Behold, the grave of a wicked man
by sopheliasophy
Summary: AU from ten minutes before the end of 3.20 onwards. I seriously do not want to spoil you with a detailed summary. Damon will be awesome, that I can promise. Might get dark. Oh, who am I kidding? Will definitely get a little dark. Happy ending, I promise!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This fic goes AU from about ten minutes before the end of 3.20 Do Not Go Gentle. Which means 3.21 and the finale never happened. Suck it, Plec. (Just kidding, I love you bunches, don't be mad, call me and we can do lunch sometime. xoxo). This first chapter is just a shortish way to kick things off. I don't know how fast this will go up, or how long it will run, but I am hoping to post a new chapter every few days. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Damon was drunk. He had just said a bourbon soaked goodbye to his best friend in the Salvatore crypt, so of course he was drunk. But he was not so drunk that he couldn't make a three point landing on Elena's windowsill. He didn't see her through the window, so he let himself inside, and sat on her window seat. Good old Elena. Good old Elena, his friend. His friend who was probably going to chuck him in favor of his brother any day now. His friend Elena who was the reason why he was going to have to leave Mystic Falls forever and ever. No, it was okay. He wouldn't go. He could hang around town and watch his good friend Elena, his friend who tasted so sweet and felt so right in his arms at a Denver motel, his sweet friend, his girl, light of his life, his only, his everything - making moony eyes at his brother. Again. For all time. Because it would always be Stefan. Because Damon doesn't get the girl. Damon doesn't get a best friend. Everyone either leaves or dies, or has sex with his brother. Or all of the above.

"Seriously, Damon? Tonight of all nights?" Elena sighed, as she appeared in the doorway. She had changed out of her white flapper dress, and into a tank top and shorts, but her hair was still bound up in waves. "You know what? It's fine. Tonight of all nights, it's completely fine."

"I know I'm a wee bit tipsy," Damon said, "but you look blurrier than I expected."

"It's the hair," Elena responded. She sat down on the chair in front of her dresser, still for a moment. Then she raised her hands to her hair and began removing the pins. Damon moved behind her, and helped her take the pins out. Then he lifted a brush from the dresser, and brushed out her long dark hair. Elena closed her eyes, resting her bandaged hand on the table.

"You want me to fix that for you?" he asked her, quietly.

"No, that's okay," Elena said. "I need to feel it. It's what makes me realize that he is gone. There are seconds in between seconds when I almost forget." She opened her eyes, and looked at him in the mirror. "I take it that he is actually gone."

"Meredith was with him when I left. She was going to give him something to make it peaceful. Or so she said." Damon laughed, harshly. "Peaceful. I wanted to just snap his neck and put us all out of his misery. You can't get more peaceful than that. One snap, done. But he chose Meredith's way."

"At least he's not alone. I suppose you couldn't stay with him?" She looked at his face again. "No, I guess not. Not until the very end, anyway."

"No," Damon said, shortly. He put the brush down. "You're done."

"Thanks." Elena stood, and turned to face him. "The house is empty. Every year it gets more and more empty."

"Where's my brother and yours?"

"My brother is with Matt. They are grieving their own way, I guess. And your brother went home. I sent him there." She sat down on the edge of her bed.

"And why was that?"

"I wanted to be alone. He took the stake with him, said he wanted to put it somewhere safe, anyway."

"Well, then-"

"No. You should stay. I can mourn Ric with you in a way that I can't with Stefan. You loved him."

"I guess I did." Damon sat down beside her.

"No guessing about it. You loved him." She reached over and brought Damon's hand into her lap, and held it with her undamaged hand. "You remember last summer when all four of us went up to the lakehouse for a cookout, and Ric and Jeremy pushed you in? So much for your vampire hearing skills. They came right up behind you on the dock, and they weren't exactly ninjas about it."

Damon pulled his hand away, and stood up. "If we are going to play 'remember when', then I am leaving."

"Damon," Elena said, reaching up and grabbing his hand again. "We won't. That's fine."

He sat down beside her. "That wasn't the happiest of memories, anyway. You were obsessed with finding Stefan, and the only reason why we were there, hell, the only reason why I let those two idiots throw me in the lake, was to try and make you smile. Just once that stupid summer, I needed to see you smile."

"I know. And it worked." Elena gave him a small smile, that slipped suddenly, as she looked down at her bandage again. "A little bit, anyway."

She looked back at the bed. "I'm suddenly really tired, actually. Will you . . . do you want to lay down with me? Just for awhile?"

Damon looked back at the bed, too. It looked wide and vast and dangerous. "Sure, Elena."

Damon kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket on the chair, while she crawled up the bed and got herself under the covers. He slipped in beside her. "This is a terrible idea, you know."

"Why?" Elena asked, her head turning towards him on the pillow.

"Just remembering the last time I climbed into bed with you. Practically sent you screaming into the night."

"Wasn't out of fear," she said, and then paused. "Well, maybe it was."

"Oh, it definitely was." Damon looked up at the ceiling as Elena turned and reached over to switch the light off. Darkness descended. "Why do I scare you that much? Obvious reasons, or something else?"

"Well, not the obvious reasons, if you mean vampire ones. Despite everything I've seen you do in that department," Elena responded, her voice low. "And I'm more scared of me than I am of you."

"Really. That makes sense."

"I love Stefan."

"No kidding. Kinda got that memo. For the past two years."

"I love Stefan," Elena said. She shifted on the pillow until her face was closer to his. "But I have a choice to make. I'm choosing you."

"Wait, what?" Damon asked, his stomach suddenly tense. "I know I'm drunk and sad, so I'm probably just passed out in the crypt and hallucinating this, but what?"

"I'm choosing you, Damon. I'm choosing to be with you. That is," she said, with some hesitation in her voice, "if that's what you want, too. If you still want me after all that I have done to string the both of you along. I'm ashamed of what happened in Kansas, you know. It was stupid of me to tell you that I didn't know how I feel. Of course, I know how I feel. I love you. I have loved you for awhile. I was going to let you know in the morning. But you are here now, so I am telling you now."

Damon raised himself up on his elbows. "You are going to have to give me more details than that, Elena. Because you know I am not buying this for a second."

Elena turned her head, and looked up at the ceiling in the dark. "Ric died tonight. He died as someone who had lost his loves again and again." She turned and faced him. "But at least he died as someone who _did _love. Who loved bravely. With all of the darkness and fear in his world, he still let himself love and be loved. I know what that means now, and I'm not afraid anymore. Not afraid of what loving you says about me. Not afraid of what you might do when things go wrong. Not afraid of what people are going to say. I love you, Damon. I choose to be with you."

Damon shook his head. "No, you don't. You just said it yourself, you love Stefan. You even went to the dance with him tonight."

"Oh, I'll always love him. That's not really the point, is it? And the dance . . . Stefan is wonderful. He's complicated, and he has more layers to him than I thought any person could. And he's there for me, really there. When he is truly himself, that is. He clawed his way back out of the darkness, and he did it for you and for me. Because of his love for us. He's so strong, and I admire him for that. I love him for it. But it's not the same for us anymore. I realized that tonight." Her voice went down to a whisper. "I love you both, but you have been stirring something in me for awhile now. I can't ignore that. I won't. It's not fair to any of us. When I'm with you, nothing else matters but how you make me feel. I can barely breathe, you know. When it's just us. Just like this. I can't catch my breath when we are close."

Damon went still. "So it's about sex, then? I get you hot."

Elena sighed. "You are such an idiot. This is a declaration of love, not a declaration of, 'please let me get into your pants', Damon."

Damon found himself grinning. "Am I spoiling the moment?"

"Yeah, you kinda are. I'm trying to tell you that I know now. I know what I want, and I want you."

Damon suddenly felt very weary and very old. He looked at her there in the darkness, and she was ridiculously young. He shook his head again. "You know what, Elena? I'm tired and you're tired, and I'm sad and you're sad, I'm drunk and you're . . batshit from the sound of it, to be honest. In the morning, you won't remember any of this, and we'll go forward with life with things as they should be. You're not making any choices tonight, okay? So really and truly, let's forget it all. Forget it, and go to sleep."

Elena sat up, put a hand on either side of Damon's face, and cradled his head. He could feel the roughness of her bandage against his cheek. He could smell the clotted blood on her hand. She smiled at him, the light from the window hitting her face and turning it silver.

"My poor, stupid Damon," she said, before kissing him. He couldn't help it. It was all so cruel, and he would regret it dearly, but he couldn't stop her. Couldn't stop it. He was helpless in the face of her need for him, and the way his need echoed hers.

Damon pushed Elena down to the bed, ghosting his lips over her neck, capturing her moans with his mouth. He tore her shirt from it's tiny straps, with a single flick of his wrist.

They were together, and it was all lovely, it was all beautiful, it was everything he had ever wanted, and Damon knew it was going to hurt like hell when the morning came.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Apologies for an exposition heavy chapter. It's just a bridge to the deliciousness coming up, I swear.

* * *

Damon was right. When the morning came, it did hurt. But not for the reasons that he had expected it to. Damon woke with a start to find himself still in Elena's bed, her body wrapped around his. The front door had opened, that was the noise that woke him. But he knew it wasn't Jeremy, because he had heard Jeremy come home many hours before.

A familiar tread on the stairs. Stefan's head appeared, peering around the door.

Damon sat up and put a finger to his lips when his eyes met his brother's. Stefan was still and quiet, taking in the scene before him, his face darkening. That look on his brother's face . . . well, Damon only hoped that he would live long enough to forget that look and what lay behind it. That both of them would. That was the pain that the morning brought them.

Stefan nodded once, and his head disappeared. Damon could hear him walk back down the stairs and go into the kitchen.

Elena stirred, and Damon stroked her cheek lightly. "Wakey, wakey."

"Damon?" She opened her eyes, and Damon could see that they were still a little swollen from her four AM crying session, when she woke him, weeping about Ric again.

"Hey, you," Damon said, as he smiled at her.

"Hey," Elena returned his smile, and stretched. She stopped when she noticed the bandage on her hand again. "Oh. I had forgotten."

"Night does that to us. Erases the bad. Sometimes it erases the good, as well," said Damon. "Speaking of, you need to decide what _you_ are going to erase, if anything. Stefan is downstairs making coffee. He just got here."

Elena sat up, and threw the covers off. She leaned over and kissed him, with one hand on his chin. After pulling back, she said, "I'm not going to change my mind, you know. Stop with the frowny concerned face, stupid boy. No morning regrets. I love you, I'm with you, so just deal with it."

Damon shrugged. "It's a woman's prerogative, after all. Just making sure that you knew that this was your chance to be all womanly and fickle."

Elena shot him a look as she stood up, and started to pull her pajama shorts back on. "Yeah, that's more than a little bit sexist, Damon. To even imply that I'm that way . . . I forget that you're a throwback to the caveman ages."

"Well, I want to make things crystal clear, then. This is it for me, you know. A relationship and everything that goes with. I'm not a one night stand short fling kind of guy."

Elena paused in pulling her shorts on, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, I am, but not with you. Obviously, you know that."

"I know, Damon. A little insulted that you think that I might be a one night stand kind of girl, though. This is it for me, too. But I can see that you are going to need a whole lot of convincing about how serious I am." She picked up her tank top from the edge of the bed, and then realized it was in shreds. "Oops. Did we do that?"

"Actually," Damon responded, getting up and finding his jeans on the floor, "we did that more than once. More than twice if we are keeping score."

"Damon, shhhh!" Elena said, her head tilted towards the downstairs, her face turning pink. She found a shirt and and put that on instead. Then she quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail on top of her head and secured it.

"Oh sweetness, I think he's figured it out. But hey, let's go down and have the world's most awkward breakfast conversation anyway."

"Could you be a little less flippant?" Elena asked, as they made their way downstairs, Damon tugging on her ponytail as they went.

"Um, no? Not really. That's like asking me to be a little less handsome. Or a little less good at sex." He tugged her hair out, and it spilled across her shoulders. She gave him a dark look.

"Give me that," Elena said, as she exchanged the ponytail holder for a quick kiss at the bottom of the stairs. She put her hair back up, but Damon reached out to pull it out again. Elena swatted at his hand. "Stop it. Honestly, such a child."

Stefan had the coffee brewing, and he was already bringing mugs down from the cabinet. He turned to greet them with a very small smile. "Morning."

"Stefan." Elena met his eyes, and they were both quiet for a second.

Damon reached around Elena to snag a mug. "Good morning to you, brother. Thanks for getting the coffee started."

Elena sat down at the counter, and stared into her empty mug. "This doesn't have to be weird, you know." She looked up, and attempted a smile.

"Yeah, you really don't know what you are talking about," Damon said. "It kind of does."

"I'm just grateful a decision has been made, and we can all move on," Stefan replied, quietly, his eyes never leaving Elena's face.

"It has," Elena said, in a gentle tone. "And we can."

Stefan nodded, as the coffee maker began to beep. He grabbed the pot and poured coffee for all of them. Nobody said anything.

Damon cleared his throat, and nudged Elena in the shoulder. "See? It does have to be weird. So, Stefan," he said, raising his voice, "about that stake . . . ?"

"It's back at the house," Stefan replied, looking away from Elena, and at his brother.

"Are you kidding? Our house? The one any old vampire can just waltz in?"

"Who's going to want it, Damon?" Stefan said, taking a sip of coffee. "Nobody even knows it exists except for us. Even Klaus doesn't know. And I did take some precautions. It's hidden."

"Oh, well, thank mercy for small favors. It's the one thing that can wipe all vampires off the face of the planet in only four blows. You need to put that fucker down deep somewhere. Bury it in the Atlantic or something. Hell, I'll do it." He turned to Elena. "Hey, you want to go for a drive to the beach? Road trips work out well for us. I'll even buy you a new bikini. "

Elena smiled at him, but then caught Stefan's eye and colored pink. "Sorry, but I have school, you know."

"Ah, yes. That thing you almost never do. And it's Saturday, anyway. With the way I drive, we could be to the ocean and back well before they call roll in homeroom on Monday morning."

"Okay," Elena said, a little shyly. "It might be good to get away. Just for a bit. But it's not exactly bikini weather, Damon."

"Semantics," Damon shrugged. "So we'll go. This town is going to be nothing but doom and gloom for awhile anyway, and I for one, do not want to hang around while everyone mourns. So we just need to get ready, grab the stake, gas up the Camaro and go." Damon finished off the rest of his coffee in a single swallow. "Yikes. You make terrible coffee, Stefan. And why don't you people own a french press, anyway?"

Stefan asked, "You sure it's a good idea for Elena to go away right now?"

"It's not just a good idea, it's a great idea for Elena to go." Damon gave his brother a look. "Did you not catch the part about the whole town being doomish and gloomish? Sometimes people need to take a beat, you know. Especially those who have lost and lost and lost. There's life to be lived."

Stefan looked like he was going to respond, but he closed his mouth and just nodded.

"Oh, I'm not sure about leaving Jeremy here alone, actually. It's just . . . it feels soon. The house will be so empty," Elena said.

"We are not taking your brother with us, Elena. Not going to happen. Not unless you want a repeat of Denver."

"No, I know. I just-" Elena hesitated.

"I'll take care of him, Elena," Stefan said, quietly. "Damon is right. You two should get away, and the sooner that stake is rendered inaccessible, the better. Jeremy will be fine."

"Okay," Elena said, acquiescing. "Thank you, Stefan."

"As for right now, can you man the fort, brother? Guard the perimeter, or hold fast the trenches, or what have you? Elena and I need to take a shower, and get ready for stake disposal duty."

Stefan nodded. Damon took Elena by the hand and they went back upstairs.

Upstairs in the bathroom, Elena rolled her eyes at him as he started disrobing. "We're not seriously taking a shower together."

Damon paused, with his shirt half pulled over his head. "What? Why not?"

Elena inclined her head towards the downstairs. "Duh." She turned the water on, and then pulled her shorts off.

"Oh, please. You know how many times I had to listen to the two of you being all cute and playful and splashing about in the water in my house? Turnabout is fair play."

"Not happening."

Damon sighed. "Fine. But if I had known you were going to be this lame, I wouldn't have fought so hard for you the past two years." He reached over, and tickled her in the side as she was taking her clothes off.

"Stop it," Elena said, with a little giggle.

They heard a pounding on the connecting bathroom door. "Can you guys cut it out? You're being gross." Jeremy said through the door.

"Sorry," Elena called out, suddenly somber.

"Too many damn brothers in this house," Damon said, with a grumble. "Well, I guess Jeremy knows about us, now."

Elena reached out and touched him lightly on the cheek. "We will be away from here soon, away from where we have to be sad and quiet. And I'll take my time proving to you that I love you, and that I choose you. Until there is no more doubt."

"That sounds like something I am going to enjoy, Elena," Damon said, capturing her face in his hands and kissing her. He pulled back, and whispered, "It'll be someplace picturesque and sunny, with almost no people around. Where I can have my wicked way with you, and nobody can hear you scream for mercy."

Elena gave a little shiver, and then smiled at him. "Is that a promise?"

"Cross my heart," Damon answered, before gently pushing her, still half clothed, under the shower's hot spray. Elena sputtered and laughed under the water.

"Such a bastard."

"That was for letting Ric and Jeremy shove me off the dock into the lake last summer. You totally could have warned me, you know."

* * *

They went back downstairs, freshly washed and combed and dressed, to find Stefan standing at the front of the living room, staring out the window.

"I didn't mean that you literally needed to guard the perimeter, brother," Damon said.

"This neighborhood fascinates me," Stefan replied. "And I'm not being facetious. With everything that has happened here at this house over the years, still not a single person appears to have noticed. What kind of lives are they leading behind their closed doors that is so much more interesting than the things they could see if they just looked out their windows towards this one house?"

Damon came and stood by him, looking over Stefan's shoulder. "I love this oblivious town. Makes life so much easier." He turned back towards Elena, who was in the kitchen area, toasting bagels. "I'll have to take mine to go. Not really what I am hungry for, but I guess it'll do."

Elena hesitated. "Do you . . would you like -?" Her hand fluttered towards her neck, and then she ran it through her hair. "Sorry, I'm not clear on this aspect of vampire girlfriend etiquette, and this is weird. Really weird. But I know you and Andie-" She looked over at Stefan, and her eyes fell.

Damon cocked his head at her. "Wow. Generous offer, and not one that I was expecting, but I'm fine. Because yes, as you pointed out, this is weird." He looked over at Stefan, who had turned to stare resolutely out the window again. "Keep forgetting that your last vampire relationship wasn't so typical." He nudged his brother with an elbow. "Are we actually going to be cool about this? Really?"

Stefan nodded, but did not turn to look at him again.

"Fine. Repressed and unhealthy, but fine." Damon shrugged. "I'll pop over and get the stake that we need to dispose of, Elena you go upstairs and pack an overnight bag." Damon looked back at Stefan. "Where did you stash it? On the kitchen table in the cookie jar? Or did you just hang it on the front door with a sign that says 'free stake'?"

"I put it in the firewood container in the study. I thought it would be good camouflage."

Damon groaned. "Lousy spot for it. The front door would have been better. Okay, be back in two shakes."

Elena brought him his bagel, and he kissed her quickly on the tip of her nose. "Thanks."

Damon left, but paused on the porch for a second after closing the front door behind him. He wanted them to be alone. They needed to talk, which is why he hadn't asked Elena to come with him to the boarding house. But it hadn't occurred to him until that second that he was leaving behind an explosively awkward situation. Possibly even dangerous. Stefan seemed to be under control, but-?

He could hear Elena moving about, and then, "Stefan? Do you want some breakfast? I mean . . . I meant, do you want a bagel?"

"I'm fine, Elena. Thank you."

"You don't have to stay here, you know."

"I know. Not sure where else to be, if I am being honest. Does it bother you if I am here?"

"No, of course not."

More silence. Damon wanted to go inside and kick both their asses. Just talk about it for fuck's sake.

As though she had heard him, Elena said, "I'm sorry. This isn't how you should have found out. About me and Damon."

"It's not as though it was a surprise. I expected it."

"You did? Even after I asked you to go to the dance with me?"

"Elena, I know when your heart isn't really into it. You were distant even before we heard about Alaric. I was dancing with you, but you weren't dancing with me. Not really."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm thankful you didn't drag things out. And the two of deserve your shot. Actually, you deserve to have your shot without me hanging around."

"Stefan-"

"No, I've been thinking about it for the past couple of days. I knew that if you chose to be with Damon, I would need to get out of town. Not forever, just for awhile. Maybe a month. Maybe a year. I don't know. After you guys get back, I'm going to take off."

"Damon won't want you to leave. Neither do I."

"Oh, let's be frank with each other. You both want me gone. I don't mean that in a cruel way. It's only right that you should."

"Stefan, I do love you. I always will. And I hate hurting you like this."

"I know. But you are in love with him, and you need to explore that." There was a pause, and Damon heard Stefan moving closer to Elena. "That doesn't mean I'm giving up hope for us, Elena. You need to know that, too."

"Stefan, don't."

Stefan took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. Breaking the rules already. And I apologize to you, too, Damon. Since I know you are eavesdropping on the porch."

Damon cleared his throat. "Yeah- so, everything is going to be okay if I go, right? If I really go?"

"I'm not going to eat your girlfriend, Damon. Not going to try to kiss her, either."

"Well, all righty then. That's very reassuring, Stef."

* * *

Damon entered the boarding house quietly. The door had been wide open when he arrived, which was a little disconcerting. He went straight to the firewood bin, but there was no silver stake. "Fucking hell, Stefan."

He called his brother. "Dude, which fireplace and which bin? There's nothing in this one."

"The one in the study."

"Yeah, no shit. And no stake."

"I don't know what to tell you. That's definitely where I put it."

"I don't know what to tell you," mimicked Damon. "Seriously, could you have accidentally thrown it _on to_ the fire? Maybe Esther was wrong about it's so called invincibility."

"Yeah, that's doubtful."

Damon poked around the fireplace with a poker just in case. "You're right, that was a long shot." He could hear pounding on the door from Stefan's side of the conversation. "What's going on over there?"

"Just a second." He heard Stefan's footsteps, he heard what sounded like Meredith Fell's voice, and then Stefan came back on the line. "Come back here, brother. We've got a problem."

"Yeah?"

"Alaric is not dead. Come quickly."

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK." Damon leaned on the horn of the Camaro. "Come _on."_

Bad enough that they had one lane shut down for road construction, now some idiot had jacknifed into one of the construction diggers, and was blocking Damon's car in the other lane as well. Said idiot was out of his Audi and gesticulating wildly at the construction crew chief, while the other members of the crew were just standing around like yokels.

"Not cool," Damon called out from his convertible. "You people are life ruiners." They ignored him. He took his phone out and dialed his brother. "Okay, update me. I'm stuck."

"Dr. Fell says Bonnie came out of the woods like she was sleepwalking. She practically threw Meredith into the wall of the crypt, knocking her out. When Meredith came to, Bonnie was lying next to her on the floor of the crypt with a bloody neck, and Alaric was gone."

"So he definitely transitioned. And now he's all evil." Damon sighed. "Esther, that bitch. Just couldn't leave things alone. Oh, why didn't I just snap his fucking neck?"

"Dr. Fell had an ambulance take Bonnie to the hospital. She regained consciousness after they got there. She's lost a lot of blood, but she's going to be okay. She refused Dr. Fell's special kind of help, though. If Esther did possess her, she has no memory of it."

"And who knows how long it will take before she's up and competent with the voodoo again."

"Jeremy is taking this really hard."

"I imagine so. The boy is a bit of a pansy. How's Elena?"

"Holding up. Worried about Bonnie. And about you. She wants you here . . . we don't know where Alaric is, and we don't know what he is planning."

"And we are missing a shiny stake, don't forget." Damon thumped his steering wheel again. "Oh, fuck this." He hung up on his brother, and got out of his car.

Damon walked over to the gesticulating idiot Audi owner, and slugged him, knocking him out cleanly. When the crew chief looked like he was going to protest, Damon held up a finger. "Nuh uh. Trust me, you will thank me later." He slung the idiot into the front seat of the Audi, and then shoved the Audi over into a ditch on the side of the road.

Walking back to the crew, he compelled all three of them, saying, "This stupid idiot over there ran off the road all by his lonesome. You all saw it happen. You won't remember me, or this conversation. Now say' thank you'."

"Thank you." They parroted back to him.

Damon smiled at them. "Told you." He hopped back into the Camaro, and took off with a little wave.

He called his brother from the car again. "Can you keep Elena from panicking for a little while longer?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Heading to the hospital. Can't wait around for a functioning witch to repair herself, so I guess I have to do it for her."

"Watch out for Alaric."

"No kidding, Stef. Geez."

Damon made it to the hospital in record time. Bonnie however, was less than cooperative. After she sputtered and choked out most of the blood he forced down her throat, she swung a hand out and hit him in the face.

"Ouch, witch. Off your game? Shouldn't you have just mind hexed me instead?" Damon said, caressing his jaw.

Bonnie ripped the IV out of her arm, and glared at him. "Didn't want that, Damon. I was going to be fine the normal human way."

"Yeah, I know. But you weren't going to be fine fast enough for me." Damon picked up her black flapper dress from the chair, and tossed it at her. "Up. Dress. Go."

As soon as she was ready, he escorted her rapidly from the hospital.

"Hungry? It's lunchtime, and I doubt my blood was all that filling," Damon asked Bonnie, once he had her situated in the Camaro and they were leaving the parking lot.

"Confused, actually."

Damon gave Bonnie all the facts on their way to Elena's house. "So, we need you to figure something out. Ric is on the loose all killer and grrrr, and gunning for vamps, and guess what? It's your fault. Also, magic made him so . . . magic can unmake him, right? Regardless, we need you."

"Story of my life," Bonnie said with a sigh. "Did anyone bother to call Jamie? He has to be wondering what happened to me."

"Who? Never mind, don't care. Let's not get caught up in irrelevancies."

"The guy I was with at the dance last night? He's not an irrelevancy."

"Isn't he?" Damon pulled up in front of the Gilbert house. "There we go. Let's get to crackin'. You need me to run over to your house for witchy cookbooks?"

"You can't even get into my house, Damon."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot that."

They walked up to the porch. "But no matter. I'll call Abby. She used a spell to incapacitate Mikael, and I'm willing to bet it would work on Alaric as well. I wouldn't have that one at my house anyway."

"Here she is," Damon announced, as they entered. "The girl who pretty much ruined everything is the one who is going to save us all, isn't that right, Bonnie Bennett?"

Bonnie gave him a look, and then went over to Elena and hugged her. "So sorry about Ric, Elena. I honestly don't know what happened. I have no memories of it at all."

"It's okay-" Elena started to say, but then Damon cut her off and moved Bonnie physically towards the kitchen table.

"Yes, yes. Lovey dovey it's all fine, we forgive you. Call your mom, and get to work. We're burning daylight here." He looked over at Elena. "Can you go and grab our Betty Boop here something else to wear? Something less sparkly and speakeasy-ish and more 'let's save everyone through magic' work appropriate?"

Elena threw her arms around Damon, and said, "Just give me a second, okay? Kind of want to appreciate the fact that you aren't lying mangled somewhere." She closed her eyes as she held him close, and rested her head on his chest.

He brought his arms up to circle her as well. "Okay, but only one." He leaned his mouth close to her ear and said, "I'll always come back to you, you know."

"I know you will." Elena shuddered. "But Ric-"

He tightened his hold on her. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this the way we always do. Stefan and I will catch Ric and put him down, you and I will resume our little honeymoon getaway, and we will all live happily ever after."

"Promise?"

Damon said, with a sigh, "Do I have to say 'cross my heart' again? You know I do, and it's a little cheesy."

"Promise?" Elena repeated, giving him a stern look.

"Yes, Elena. Cross my heart."

She gave him a quick kiss, and then released him. Turning to meet Bonnie's stare, Elena said, "Oh. Yeah, this happened."

"I can see that. And you already have your own annoyingly cute couple thing that you do. That was fast," Bonnie said, raising an eyebrow. "Well okay, then. First I'm calling Jamie, then I'll call Abby, and then . . has anyone let Caroline and Tyler know?"

"You can gab with your school friends on your own time, witch. Priority one is finding a way to render my ex-best friend a beef jerky, okay?"

"Jeremy is upstairs, calling everyone now, including Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood. Dr. Fell is up there with him," Stefan interjected, from where he was standing by the kitchen counter.

"Why are they upstairs?" Damon asked.

"Meredith had a head wound, and it's still bleeding, so-" Elena responded, with a look towards Stefan.

"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, there's a definite whiff of crazy doctor blood in the air. Sorry, Stef."

"Damon, we know where Alaric is," Stefan said.

"What? Where?"

"I called Rebekah to let her know about Alaric, but she already knew. He attacked her and Caroline at the high school this morning, and he definitely has the stake. Rebekah escaped, but he still has Caroline. We've been trying to come up with a plan to rescue her."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. He thinks he can lure Klaus to him by using Caroline as bait. But it will never work. Klaus is not suicidal."

"I don't think it will either. When I spoke to Rebekah, she and Klaus were already on their way out of town. He's not coming back for Caroline. He's not coming back for anyone."

Elena's phone buzzed in her pocket. She took the phone out, and looked at in horror. "It's Ric. I can't answer this."

Bonnie, equally horrified, said, "Don't make her talk to him."

"You have to. Sorry. We need to know what he is planning. If he thinks you are alone, he might tell you more than he would tell one of us," Stefan said.

"Agreed," Damon said, giving her a reassuring smile. "You can do this. It's not really him, you know. Our Ric is dead. This guy is just an evil bastard that we are going to kill."

Elena gave a little shudder before answering the phone. "Hello?" She took a deep shuddering breath, "Ric?"

"Not exactly, but very close." Despite what he had just told Elena, it was a little freaky, Damon had to admit, to hear his dead friend's voice on the other line.

"What do you want?'

"Me? I want a world without fear. A world without dark things in it. A world where humans are not subject to the tyranny of monsters. But that can wait. Right this second, all I want is you."

"You want me to do what?"

"I want you to come here, to the high school, Elena. And I know what you are thinking, 'oh crap, my teacher wants me to come to school on a Saturday'. But no worries, it's not detention. And you won't be here alone. Your friend Caroline is here, and she's super happy for you to come and hang out with us. We're doing arts and crafts, which is her favorite."

"Caroline is okay?"

"Hmm . . . define 'okay'. She's in lots and lots and lots of pain, which is no more than she deserves, isn't it? For being a killer. For enjoying being a killer. But maybe if you show up in the next half hour, alone, then I'll let you do something about her pain. Or maybe not. We'll have to see."

"I'll be there. Just don't . . . please. Just stop hurting her."

"I make you no promises, Elena. After all, did she ever show mercy to the people she has killed? And if it takes you too long, I'm just going to get bored, and when I get bored . . . oh, well."

"I'll be there, I promise. I have to . . . I have to sneak out. I'm not alone."

"Well, that's unfortunate. But sneak away here, and make sure no one follows you. Understand?"

"Yes."

Ric ended the call, and Damon released the breath he had been holding. "Well, fuck. We know what that means."

Elena was still staring at the phone in her hand. She looked up at Damon. "You were right. Luring Klaus back with Caroline didn't work."

"So now he wants to use the doppelganger," Stefan said.

"Klaus won't come back for me."

"He might," Damon remarked. "I'm actually quite surprised that Klaus left you behind, to be honest. Becks must have been persuasive. I'm sure he has plans to retrieve you again, eventually."

"We can't let him come back anyway. We still don't know if he started your bloodline or not," Elena said. "What are my options here? I have to go. I can't let Ric torture Caroline."

Damon shrugged. "She'll get over it. She always does."

"Damon." Elena shook her head at him.

"Elena," He met her eyes with his, "You are not going anywhere."

"But we are, brother," Stefan interjected. "We are going to that high school, and we are going to get Caroline out of there."

"Not without a much more stellar plan than just showing up, Stef."

"You have one?"

Damon sighed. "Nope."

Jeremy came down the stairs and joined them in the living room. "If we are going to take down Ric, let's do it now."

"Jeremy, no," Bonnie said. "You can't go with them."

"Not you, buddy," Damon said, shaking his head.

"Yes, me. I'm the one that should go. He doesn't want to kill me, anyway. Maybe I could trick him into thinking I'm on his side."

"Yeah, let's not put that to the test. He could have that ring off your finger before you could say 'complicated surrogate daddy issues', and then you'd be dead, really dead, and your sister would cry. And I hate it when your sister cries. So let's be a little less idiotic, okay?"

Jeremy glared at Damon. "Goddamn vampires. This shouldn't be happening. We let him go. He wanted us to let him go." Jeremy turned and went back upstairs.

"Yikes. That's some pent up rage. Remind me to compel him into a better mood when we get back." Damon looked over at Stefan. "So let's go, Stef."

Elena clutched at his arm. "No, no no no no. Just walking in is a horrible idea. He wants you dead so much more than he wants Caroline dead. You know that."

"All I know is that this exciting and action packed 'sit around and play phone tag' thing that we've got going on is wasting time. If we are going to do something incredibly stupid, let's just get it over with."

Stefan nodded. "I'm with you, brother."

Just as they were heading to the door, Elena's phone buzzed again. "Wait- it's Caroline." She answered it. "Caroline? Where are you? I can't understand you, slow down."

Damon could hear Caroline's sobs, and he winced. "I'm okay. I'm in my car, driving home. He can't get me out here. Elena, he's trapped in the school."

"How did you get away?"

"Klaus. He came, Elena. He came, and took me right through the window of Ric's classroom. It happened so fast. So fast, that Ric couldn't do anything. Ric can't leave. He doesn't have a daylight ring. He tried to come after us, but he started to burn."

Elena turned to Damon and Stefan, relief etched on her face. "Klaus saved her."

"Oh, thank God," Bonnie said.

"We heard. He actually came back. Huzzah for chivalry," Damon said. "And Evil Ric is stuck until nightfall. That's fantastic news."

"Klaus got me away, but then he left. He wanted me to go with him, but-"

"Caroline, just go home and stay there, all right? He can't get in your house. Everyone needs to stay inside, just in case he figures out a way around the sunlight. We'll come up with a plan before it gets dark. He doesn't get to win, Caroline. You hear me? Esther and Ric - they don't get to win."

"Okay. My mom is home, Elena. I'm just . . . I'm just going to stay home with my mom."

"Make sure Tyler knows to stay in his house, too. Love you, Care."

" 'Kay. Love you, too." As soon as Elena and Caroline hung up, Elena's phone buzzed again.

"It's Ric," Elena said. "Should I?"

Damon nodded.

"Hello, Ric. I'm not coming to the school, but I guess you know that."

"Oh, Elena. Always failing to live up to your academic potential."

Damon took the phone from her hand. "You sound angry, Ric, my friend. Is there a reason why you are so angry?"

"It's only a few hours until darkness comes, Damon. Only a few."


	3. Chapter 3

Damon hung up on Ric without responding. "Okay, gang. We have a very limited amount of time left. Elena, did Ric have a lot of weaponry stashed in this house?"

"Yes, quite a lot. Most of it is upstairs in his room. He has about a gallon of vervain up there, too."

"Jeremy!" Damon called up the stairs. "Stop pouting and start gathering up Ric's crossbows and vampire hunting paraphernalia. Bring it down here when you are done." He turned to Stefan. "Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Ric doesn't have a way to walk in the sunlight? I'll bet he's hiding in the shadowy recesses of his classroom right now, cursing the fact that Esther didn't have the foresight to equip him properly, and wishing desperately that he had a bottle of bourbon."

"He does, actually. Stefan and I cleaned out a lot of his stuff last night, but I'm pretty sure we left behind a couple of bottles."

"Oh, well, that's good. Hopefully he'll be liquored up before he arrives here. Bonnie, I don't hear you calling your mother."

Bonnie stood up. "I'm going upstairs, so I can focus. Let you know when I have something."

Meredith passed her, while coming downstairs, holding a couple of crossbows. There was a bandage around her head, but it was already soaked through with blood. Stefan recoiled, moving deeper into the kitchen.

"Here you go," Meredith said, laying the weapons on the kitchen table. She put a hand up to her bandage. "Dumb of me to dress the wound myself. It keeps slipping off."

Damon gritted his teeth. "Hell no, that's not distracting. Not at all."

"Oh, sorry," Meredith looked at him, and then at Stefan. "Maybe I will just go to the hospital now, and have somebody take care of it."

"Yeah. Good idea. Especially considering that I haven't had a lick of real breakfast or lunch yet. And I'm sure it's worse for Stefan."

"Be careful out there," Stefan said, quietly.

"If Ric wanted me dead, he would have killed me last night in the crypt," Meredith said. "Keep me updated, okay? If there's anything I can do, let me know." She gave them all a sad smile, and then left.

Damon let out the breath he was holding. "Oh, thank God. Crazy doctor blood never smelled so good."

Elena put a hand on his arm, and inclined her head towards the stairs. "Upstairs with me?"

Damon nodded and followed her up. "Not that I wouldn't follow you anywhere, but you picked a strange time for a quickie, Elena."

"Funny, Damon. Although, you aren't entirely wrong." They entered her room, and Elena sat on the bed. She rolled her sleeve up, and stretched out an arm to him. "Here you go."

"Elena-"

"No, seriously. You need to keep up your strength, Damon. There might be a battle coming. And you are hungry."

Damon couldn't help but stare at her neck instead. Elena, catching his glance, tilted her head and brushed her hair off the side of her neck. "Neck is okay, too, you know."

Damon shook his head. "You don't have to."

Elena smiled. "I do. It's fine." She gave a little shrug, and Damon watched her neck and shoulder move in fascination.

He reached out a finger and traced the curve her neck made where it met the top of her shoulder. "I've never fed on anyone I truly loved before, Elena. There's something quite beautiful about the thought. But it might hurt you. And I don't ever want you to think of me with pain. Never again. I've caused you so much already."

"Damon." Elena covered his hand on her neck with her own. "You have been forgiven a thousand times, and I will always do so. I do this out of love, you know. Let me."

Damon nodded, not quite sure he could keep back the tears. "Still having some trouble believing that any of this is real. I'm passed out at the Grill, and Ric, the real Ric, is beside me trying to sober me up enough to get me into my car. He's not dead, you don't love me, and I'm just asleep and having the weirdest, best dream of my life. And feeling guilty about doing so."

"It's real. The grief is just as real as the love, I'm afraid."

Damon nodded again. He leaned forward and kissed her, holding her chin in his hand.

"I love you," he whispered. Then he bent his head to her neck, and began to drink.

When they returned back downstairs, Stefan, noting the marks on Elena's neck, said nothing.

* * *

It took quite awhile to track down Abby.

"Good to know that she still answers the phone for Jamie, at least," Bonnie said, after finally hearing from her mother. "Lord knows, it would kill her to answer it for me."

"Yeah, remind me to thank whatshisname later. So c'mon, how do we do this thing?" Damon asked her.

"It's dark magic. She really doesn't want us to even try."

"Does she understand the full implication if Ric stakes the right Original? She dies, too. Does she understand that?" Damon said, impatiently. "Get to the part where you tell us what we need to do."

Bonnie looked down at the notes she took while on the phone. "It's a simple spell, actually. We have to stop the vampire's heart. And to do that, we need to provide a counter balance."

"You have to also stop a human's heart?" Stefan asked.

"Yes."

"You can stop mine. Wouldn't be the first time," said Jeremy.

"Jeremy, no. Not you. Maybe someone else can wear your ring," Elena said.

"Oh, Elena. Listen to the boy. He volunteers. And he'll be fine, I absolutely promise," Damon said, rubbing Elena's shoulders casually.

"You can't know that, Damon."

"Elena," Damon turned her so he could look her in the eyes. "Trust me. Nothing is happening to Jeremy. Right, witch?"

"It should be fine, Elena. Honestly. The ring will bring him back," Bonnie said.

"I don't trust those damn rings anymore." Elena went over to Jeremy, and wrapped her arms around him. "You're the best, and I love you. Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Elena." He hugged her back quickly. Jeremy stepped away from Elena and gave Damon a hard look. "And just so everyone here knows? Not doing this to save your vampire line. Doing it because we let Ric go, and he should stay that way. It's not right for him to be like this. The real Ric would not want any of this."

"Doesn't matter why, just matters that we do it."

"Damon," Stefan interjected, quietly.

"Yeah?"

"It's dark, brother. Night has come."

It was indeed dark outside. A storm had moved in, bringing the dark with it.

"Fuck," Damon said. "That was fast. Too fast."

They all froze, as they heard a pounding on the door.

"And so was that." Damon caught Jeremy's arm, as Jeremy moved towards the door. "Don't think so."

Elena grabbed Damon's other hand. "So what's the plan?"

Damon suggested, "Well, we could just turn all the lights off, pretend we aren't home."

"He might tear the house down around us, Damon," Stefan said.

"He might." Damon looked around at the group assembled. "And I guess some of us won't survive that." He turned to Bonnie. "To do this spell, we have to get close, right?"

"Yes, very close. You have to make actual contact with his heart. And you have to maintain contact long enough for the spell to work."

"So either we have to let him in, or one of us has to go out onto the porch," remarked Damon. "I vote against letting him in."

"Agreed," said Stefan, his face grim.

"I know you are in there! I can hear you. Whatever spell you are cooking up, it isn't going to work. Haven't you figured that out yet, Salvatores? Nothing you do ever works. Every plan, a major fail. Every day bringing with it a new disaster. Why don't you just give up and die already?" Ric's voice came to them with a thunder clap.

"Same to you, buddy," Damon called out to him. With his hands, he motioned to Bonnie and Jeremy that they should get ready. Very quietly, Jeremy laid down on the living room floor, and Bonnie kneeled over him with her hands on his chest.

Suddenly, the front door blew open, right off of it's hinges. A chunk of wood landed with a thud near Jeremy's head.

"Whoops! Hope that didn't hit anyone," Ric said, appearing in the open doorway. "Anyone human, that is."

"Oh, such a champion for humankind are we?" Damon said, with a sneer.

"Well, yeah, actually," Ric replied, tossing the silver stake in the air and catching it. "Always have been. You should know that, Damon, my friend."

Damon moved towards Ric, framed in the doorway, but Elena held him back. "Don't."

"Yeah, Damon. Don't. Hey there, Elena." Ric gave her a little wave. "Nice to see you. Jeremy, why are you laying on the floor? I don't think it's been vacuumed this week, unless one of you did it this morning, so you will probably be picking up lots of crumbs in your hair. Speaking of, did either of you remember to move the towels from the washing machine to the dryer? I forgot to do that yesterday, and I'm afraid they might get moldy."

Elena shook her head through her tears. "Stop it. Just stop talking like you are him. You are not him."

"Aren't I?" Ric asked, meeting her eyes. "Look at me. Really look at me, and say that again."

Elena fell silent.

"You know, you may as well leave. Nothing is going to happen tonight. We're in here, you are out there. Never the twain shall meet and so forth," Damon said.

"What? And not give your little spell a chance to be a colossal failure? I would never be that rude. So? Come and get me, if you like. I'm right here."

There was a sudden crack of thunder, and the heavens opened up and it began to rain. "Oh, what a beautiful storm. And so helpful that it brought night early. Even nature wanted to hasten my arrival at your door, it seems. But then, it makes sense that nature would be on my side. Since you and your kind are a crime against it."

"Dude, have you looked in a mirror lately? You are the same monster as us. Talk about self loathing," Damon commented.

"You think I don't hate myself? The ineffectual drunkard that befriends the demons of the night?"

"And now you are one. Sucks to be you."

"Actually, Damon, from where I am standing, it sucks to be you."

Damon looked over at Elena. "I don't know. Things have been looking up for me lately, to be honest."

"You coming at me, bro, or what?"

Damon shrugged. "Okay, then. If that's what you want." Over his shoulder, he said "Now, guys."

Three things happened nearly simultaneously. Stefan pulled up a crossbow, and shot Alaric in the shoulder. Just as Ric was looking over at the bolt in his shoulder, Elena threw a vervain bomb in his face. As that exploded, Damon vamp sped up to a screaming Ric with a burning face, and thrust his hand into Ric's chest and grabbed his heart.

"Bonnie?" Damon called out.

Bonnie began to chant. Out on the porch, Damon kept a tight hold on Ric's heart. "Not going to work," Ric wheezed.

"Hey, so far so good. Bonnie?"

Bonnie chanted louder. And louder. She shook her head in frustration and started over again.

"Bonnie? Nothing's happening," Damon said, the strain evident in his voice.

Elena and Stefan came up to the very threshold of the door. Stefan stepped out onto the porch, and thrust another crossbow bolt into Ric. And then another. Ric started to writhe. Stefan, out of bolts, held onto Ric's shoulders as he tried to pull away from Damon. "He's strong," Damon said, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you have no idea," Ric said. He pulled a bolt out of his side, and staked Stefan in the stomach with it. Stefan went down to the porch floor with a groan.

"Stefan!" Elena called out. She kneeled down in the doorway, and tried to reach Stefan to pull the bolt out.

"Elena, no," Damon said, "Stay there."

"Oh, please, Elena," Ric said. "Please come out here where I can grab you. Just an inch or two more, and I have me a valuable doppelganger."

Elena drew her hand back, with a sob.

Ric twisted away from Damon, and knocked Damon to his knees with a blow. Damon's head hit the doorjamb, and his eyes closed.

Breathing deeply, Ric looked over at Elena still in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth, her eyes full of tears. "Not coming out? Well, that's fine. I have other plans in motion, anyway. But before I leave - don't you have an important decision to make, Elena? Want me to make it easier for you?"

Damon's eyes flickered open. "Stay there, Elena. You have to-" He struggled to get up.

Ric stooped down, and looked Damon right in the eyes. "Meet you on the Other Side, brother."

Ric reached forward, and ripped Damon's heart from his chest. Damon's body crumpled and his eyes closed again. Ric stood up, and tossed Damon's heart into Elena's lap. "I believe this belongs to you."

Elena cradled Damon's heart in her hands, as it stained the bandage on her hand and dripped blood onto her knees. She looked up at Ric in wordless shock and horror.

As Elena found her voice and began to wail, Ric turned and walked down the stairs and away from the Gilbert house. Into the rain and the storm and the wind.

And it was done. The planning, the schemes, the busyness of days. Darkness descended and it was over.

* * *

AN: But the fic isn't! Lots more chapters to go. Lots more Damon, too, so no worries. Well, actually, feel free to worry if you like. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. However, this is probably the moment where I need to reassure folks that this story does have a HEA. More or less? I mean, it's one that makes me fairly happy, so hopefully it will you, too. So there is that.


	4. Chapter 4

Darkness was an understatement for what Damon found himself in. Blacker and colder than anything he had ever felt. There was floating, and there was sinking, and then there was just plain falling. And falling. Nothing but falling for what felt like years. Eons.

Somewhere along the way, right about the seventh eon of falling, Damon got bored.

"Is this it? The so-called torments of the Other Side? Big deal, it's just like sky diving. And I like sky diving. It's what the cool kids do. This is downright pleasant, like living in a Mountain Dew commercial. You hear that Universe? If this is death, then I'm enjoying it."

And then the falling stopped, and the burning began.


	5. Chapter 5

The burning ebbed after a century or two, the flames no longer licking at Damon's inner being. And when it faded away, he felt dirt beneath his scorched cheek, short grass tickling his nose. He tried to lift his head, but it felt like a thousand pounds of hot lead was sitting on him.

Eventually, the lead melted away, and Damon was able to sit up.

He coughed until his throat no longer felt full of soot and dust. The coughing took roughly a year, or so it felt to him.

Looking around, Damon said, "Pastoral. Very nice. A little familiar, I guess, and completely dull. But at least the hellfire has let up, so all in all, I'm calling this a win." His voice sounded strange to him, but it was definitely his voice. He had heard nothing but his own screaming for so long during the burning, though. And now there were birds twittering, and bees buzzing, although he could not see any actual wildlife near him.

It was a field like any field. Wide and open. Bounded by trees on all sides, and overgrown, but bare and grassy in the middle. There really was something familiar about it, but Damon couldn't remember ever being there before. Not that specific spot in that specific field. But he had been in many fields during his existence, so who could really say? They were a great place to bring a victim to or bury a body in. He must have been in a thousand fields like this one.

Damon dug his fingers into the dirt. It felt like real dirt. He brought a blade of grass to his face and studied it. Yep. Real grass. Everything smelled right, too.

"So . . . if the falling, and burning and the 'oh my god this is painful I'm on fire I really fucking hate this' was hell, then is heaven a grassy empty place?" Damon wondered aloud.

"No, Damon." Emily Bennett crossed the field, and sat down beside him. She spread out her long cambric skirts on the scrubby grass.

"What a relief. If this was heaven, then I was going to say - kind of an anticlimax. And no way was I buying you as an angel, Emily. No offense."

"There is no heaven or hell for your kind. Only this. The Other Side."

"That is completely fascinating. So anyway, here's the question - how do I get back?"

"You don't."

"Oh, see, that's where you are wrong. Ridiculously wrong. Because I _will_ get back. So you may as well hocus pocus me there right now."

"What do you think you would be returning to, Damon?"

"Hmm, I don't know. My life, maybe? My girl? My brother? My town?" A thought struck Damon, and he groaned. "I was burning for years, wasn't I? It's actually centuries later, and everyone I know is is dead."

"Time doesn't work like that here."

"Well, how exactly does it work? I assume you and your witchy pals are in charge."

"We go where we want to. You cannot."

"That's awesome. So? Let's do this thing. Make with the chanty chant and send me back."

Emily shook her head. "I'm surprised by your ability to misunderstand your situation, Damon. Although, I should not be. You were always like this."

"Hey, I'm goal oriented. It's a thing. And I'm just a tad bit fixated on the fact that I left loved ones in danger, you know. I _have_ to go back. There's an evil heart ripping bastard I have to kill. And a girl I have to kiss."

"All of that is past for you. There is no one you can save, Damon. No one for you to worry over anymore. The dead take care of the dead. Let the living look after themselves."

Damon looked at her in amazement. "Have you _met_ the living in question? They can't take care of jackshit. They need me."

"Did the burning teach you nothing, Damon?"

Damon laughed. "Honey, I'm about the most unteachable person you will ever meet. It's one of the things I'm most proud of. And what could it have taught me anyway? That fire is hot, and it hurts? No shit."

Emily sighed. "The lessons continue."

She flickered and then vanished.

Damon leaned back on his elbows, and looked up towards the cloudless sky. "Hope you are having fun fucking with me, Universe. Lessons, is it? Yeah, good luck with that. You once sent me a woman to fall in love with, and it was a spectacular disaster. So what do I do when you send me another woman with the same face? I fall in love with her, too. So obviously, I never learn my lessons."

He heard a rustling beside him, and so he looked over.

Damon groaned. "Very funny. At least I know you have a sense of humor."

The woman sitting on the grass next to him looked at him with large brown eyes. "I do not understand what you are saying."

"Wasn't talking to you, sweetheart. Well, you are not Katherine. You are definitely not Elena. So?"

"I am Tatia."

"Of course you are. That was my next guess. Elijah and Klaus's old girlfriend."

"Why do you call me old? I was not very old when I died."

"I can see that. Wasn't trying to offend your vanity. In fact, can I say that I understand your attraction for Klaus and Elijah?"

"Niklaus was never mine. I cared nothing for him. Elijah was my love. I watch him from here. He was my love and will always be my love."

"That's just swell. Very romantic. So, Tatia . . . any advice for someone who wants to get out of here?"

"Elena cries. She cries, and her grief is like an ocean, wide and black and rolling. The waves crash on the stony shore of her grief. No one can help her. I watch her, and when she cries it makes me weep for you. I weep for you, and I weep for her. I came because I wanted to see you. I wanted to see the man she cries for so fiercely."

Damon was quiet. "How can I see her?"

"I do not know. I want to see her, and then I can. But right now, she is in a small dark place and she cries."

"Is she trapped? Does Ric have her?"

"It is dark. She cries."

"Is she scared? Is she hurt? How do I get to her?"

"I do not understand."

"How do I get out of here, and get to Elena?"

"You are here."

"Yes, I know that," Damon said, impatiently. "I'm trying to figure out how _not_ to be here."

"What you are asking does not make sense."

"Well, at least there's no danger of me falling in love with you. You are one daft chick."

"You loved two of my girls. So much. You loved with everything you have. I watch Elena and I watch Katherine. I have always watched my descendants. Elena cries, but Katherine does not cry."

Damon snorted. "Of course, she doesn't. She would have to have a heart for that."

Tatia looked at him in sorrow. "Katherine does not cry for you because she does not know that you are dead. No one has told her. When they tell her, she will cry. She does have a heart. You do not have a heart. The man plucked it out, like a raven plucks out the eyeballs of the condemned thief hanging on the gallows."

"Wow, you are cheery to have around. Bet you are a big hit at ghost parties, or whatever you people do for fun around here. Hey, wait a minute- why are you here, anyway? I thought you were human."

"No. Esther made me something else. Something other than human, with her magic. For my blood to bind her children into their monster selves, I had to be other than human."

"Yeah, she's big into making people not be human anymore. It's her thing."

"Esther was angry. She is still angry."

"No kidding. I kinda noticed that when she turned my best friend into a killing machine."

"She was angry with me. I had a baby."

"I heard about that. You were a bit wild in your day, huh? Well, you go, girl."

"Elijah's baby. She was angry that I had Elijah's baby. She would not let me tell him that my child was his. He was my love, and she would not let us be together. So she killed me."

"Wait, what?"

"He was my love, and she would not let-"

"Heard that bit. So Elijah fathered the Petrova line? That dirty dog."

"My little girl. So beautiful, with her father's eyes. I watched her from here. Esther sent me here as punishment, and I could only watch. My girl grew older. She had a child. She grew older and she died. But she did not come here. None of them came here. None of my child's children, or their children. Or their children. Or their child-"

"Wow, I get it. Jeez. So Elijah is Elena and Katherine's great, great-however-many grandpappy, huh? And he doesn't even know it. That could be leverage of some kind. Now what can I do with that information?" Damon smacked himself in the forehead. "Stupid. I can't do anything with that information. I can't do anything at all with anything ever again. Not from here. Is that what you want me to accept? Is that what I'm being taught? My helplessness? Because all of you are lousy teachers. You, Emily, the whole fucking Other Side. I will learn nothing from you."

Tatia shook her head. "I am not your teacher. I only wanted to see you because Elena cries for you. She cries and she cries. Her grief is like a flock of geese flying in formation. She sends it to the heavens, but no answer ever comes back for her. She cries and she cries. Her grief is like the grief of the crane who has lost her mate to the crocodile. She cries for her mate, but the mate cannot hear her. She cries and she-"

Damon sighed, and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "And we are back to that. Is there an off button for you?"

Suddenly, the ground beneath Damon shifted and gave way. The cloudless sky vanished, and all went to darkness again. And the falling began.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Damon chanted in his head. "Fuck no, fuck no, fuck no."

Because he knew what came after the falling.

* * *

When the flames died away this time, Damon's head was not in the dirt and the grass. He was surrounded by softness and sweetness. He tried to look up, but he realized that his eyelids had burned away. Everything stung.

"Lie still." He heard Tatia say. "Was it the burning?"

"Yes," Damon croaked out. His throat was fire. His head was fire.

"The burning is not pleasant. I do not enjoy the burning. Your eyelids are gone."

"Why?" Damon managed to get out. "Why the burning?"

"I do not know. No one has ever told me. Oh, your eyelids are back again. That is nice. You are very pretty, you know. Not as pretty as Elijah, but very pretty. And your eyes are pretty. But they are prettier with eyelids attached to them."

Damon gave a short, hoarse laugh. "I think I like you after all."

He blinked once, twice, three times, and then his sight began to clear. He tried to raise his head, but Tatia put a cool hand on his forehead.

"Oh, no," she said. "Stay there. I like holding your head in my lap."

"You won't find me arguing with you," Damon said, letting his head sink back onto her skirts. He closed his eyes again.

"I burned for a thousand years that time," Damon sighed, his eyes still closed.

"Oh, when it lasts so very long that you want to give up, but there is no one to surrender to. Yes, it is very terrible."

"They make you burn, too? As sweet and nice as you are?"

"I chewed the face off of a villager," Tatia said. "After Esther made me something other than human, but before she killed me. I was hungry and I ate his flesh."

"Ah," Damon replied. "That explains it."

* * *

He rested or he slept, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had peace for a little while. No falling, no burning, just a blissfulness. And when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the hallway at the Salvatore boarding house, and he could hear Stefan pleading with Elena upstairs.

Damon thought about being upstairs with them, and he flickered and was there. In Damon's room.

Stefan was standing outside the closed closet door. "Elena, please. You have to come out. I need to take you home. It's been two days, and you can't stay here."

Elena's voice came through the door, muffled. It made Damon ache to hear her. "No."

"Elena . . . this is ridiculous. What are you even doing in there with the lights off?"

"Crying."

"Yes, I know that, I can hear you." Stefan took a deep breath. "You think Damon would want this? It's excessive, Elena. You need to come out of there."

Hell, Stefan, Damon thought. How would you know what I want? Let the girl be excessive in her grief if that is what she wants to be. Let her feel, for fuck's sake. At least somebody is mourning me.

"No. It's my house. You gave it to me. You can't kick me out."

Stefan let out an exasperated sound. "It's not safe, Elena. We don't even know where Ric is, and I have no way of keeping him out of this house. We need to get you back to your place where I can protect you."

"I can't. I can't go back there. The blood is still on the porch."

"It's not. I cleaned it up."

"Doesn't matter. I can still see it. I can still feel it. When I tried to put his heart back in his chest, I slipped in it. It's still all over me. All over the floor." Her voice caught in a sob. "But his heart wouldn't go back in his chest, Stefan. I tried, but it wouldn't go back in. I couldn't do it. I couldn't. It wouldn't go back in."

Stefan rested his head against the door, and closed his eyes.

"I know, Elena. I know."

"My Damon. My Damon's heart. Where is it, Stefan? You took it from me."

"It's in the crypt, Elena. With the rest of his body."

"Okay, that's good. That's where I should be, too. But it doesn't smell like Damon there. It smells like Damon in here. And it's dark like the crypt. Do you think it's dark where he is?"

"I don't know."

"Jeremy could find out and tell us. Why can't Jeremy see him?"

"I don't know. He says he can't."

"Maybe he's found peace. He's moved on and found peace like Jenna did."

There was a pause. Damon could tell that Stefan didn't believe for a second that Damon deserved the same kind of death as Jenna. A death without the burning. Oh, that's right. Stefan didn't know about the burning. What a treat that was going to be for the ripper someday.

Finally, Stefan replied, with tears in his eyes and a catch in his throat, "Yes. Maybe he did find peace. And if Damon has moved on, then you should, too."

Stefan and Damon both winced when Elena started sobbing again.

Stefan sighed, and moved away from the door. He left Damon's room and went downstairs.

Damon followed him. He couldn't stand there and listen to her cry like that either.

As Damon moved from the landing into the living room, he saw Jeremy standing in the living room doorway. Damon gave him a little wave. "Hey there, kid."

Jeremy's eyes widened, but he said nothing.

"Ah! You can see me." Damon moved quickly over to Jeremy to stand in front of him. Behind Damon, Stefan was pouring himself a drink at the drinks cart. Damon waved his hand in Jeremy's face. "Hello, can you hear me, too?"

Jeremy swallowed hard, but said nothing.

"Yeah, guessing you can. Okay, so here's the deal . . . I'm doing my damndest to get back, but the witches are being difficult about it. So I need you to go to Bonnie and tell that incompetent wench that she has to go to the witches house and talk to Emily. She has to make Emily see that I need to be sent back. She needs to insist on it. It's very important that she talk directly to Emily Bennett. Understand?"

Jeremy took a step back.

"Hello? Not funny, Gilbert."

Jeremy turned around and walked away. Damon followed him into the kitchen. "Seriously, dude? Seriously?"

Jeremy stood and looked at Damon. "No," he said, very quietly. "What is dead should stay dead."

"Why, you little weasel. Jeremy Gilbert, I'm going to snap your fucking neck-" Damon looked down as he felt a massive push against his chest. There was a push, there was darkness. And then there was the falling again.

The falling and the falling and the falling.

"Oh, fucking hell," Damon said. "There goes my fucking eyelids again."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: The title of this fic comes from a Stephen Crane poem.

Behold, the grave of a wicked man,  
And near it, a stern spirit.

There came a drooping maid with violets,  
But the spirit grasped her arm.  
"No flowers for him," he said.  
The maid wept:  
"Ah, I loved him."  
But the spirit, grim and frowning:  
"No flowers for him."

Now, this is it -  
If the spirit was just,  
Why did the maid weep?

* * *

"It was a poetic death in it's own way," mused Damon. He was laying on his back in his field, one ankle propped up his knee. His eyelids had come back again, and so had most of his hair.

"What was?"

Damon sat up suddenly. "Rose! My friend. I was hoping you would drop by one day."

"Hello, Damon." Rose sat down beside him. "I didn't know you would be here on this side. I'm kind of sad to see that you are."

"I was just thinking about the way I died, and how much poetry was in it."

"How did you die?"

"What? Didn't you see it?"

"Contrary to popular opinion, namely, yours - I'm not actually obsessed with you, you know. I don't watch you all the time. It doesn't work like that anyway."

"So tired of hearing that. Wish somebody would tell how it does work," Damon said, and then nudged her shoulder with his. "But you would have loved my death. A shame you missed it. Such a typically Salvatorean blend of epic failure and martyrdom. And the poetry of the moment!" Damon sighed. "My best friend went evil, and ripped my heart out, right in front of the girl I love, with a dramatic stormy backdrop, and my brother lying insensible beside me. Both of them helpless as I took my last breath."

"Wow."

"I know, right? The kind of death they write operas about."

"I don't think they write operas where people have their hearts ripped out. Haven't heard of one, anyway."

"Well, they should. If operas were a little more gory, then maybe people would actually go to see them instead of lining up around the block for The Jonas Brothers."

"I'm sorry that it happened that way. I'm especially sorry that Elena had to witness it. You seem to be handling it well, though."

"Oh, you know. Have a lot of time to think here."

"Right. The burning. That's where I do my best thinking."

Damon looked at Rose. "You, my friend, never told me abut the burning. Back in Denver, you made it sound like everything was pretty much hunky dory on this side of things. False advertising, that's what I call it."

"I might have told _you_, but I certainly wasn't going to say anything about it in front of the children that you had with you in Denver."

"Good point. Elena would fret over you all the time if she knew that there were actual torments here. She's very fond of you."

"And it's not just the burning. You haven't been here long enough to experience everything."

"Well, don't tell me. Let's keep it a surprise. I love surprises."

"I'm also sorry that you and Elena never had a chance to be together. I was rooting for the two of you, you know. It's something that Lexi and I have argued about several times here."

"Lexi. Oh, please. If she shows up here, I have something to say to her about her ripper detox methods. But as for me and Elena, don't count us out just yet. And we finally did get together, actually. She loves me, Rose. I had less than twenty four hours of bliss before I was temporarily killed. One night and most of a day. But oh, what a night it was. What a day. I wouldn't have traded that one night and one day for anything."

"Temporarily? What are you talking about? You are very much dead. Nothing temporary about it."

"Nope, not true. This is just a holding area, before I manage to find my way back. I'm only sitting here to give myself time to consider various strategies."

"Strategies?" Rose laughed. "Oh, Damon, you have not changed in the slightest. Still the soldier with your schemes and plans and methods of attack. You need to let it all go. A few more rounds of the burning will show you that."

Damon waved a hand in the air. "I don't give a flying fuck for the burning. Every time I burn? It just makes me that much more angry. And the angrier I get, the more determined I am to rip this fucking place apart. I held heaven in my arms, Rose. My last night on earth, all night long. You think after knowing what heaven really was, I'd trade it for this? Fuck no. It's unacceptable."

"Unacceptable," Rose echoed. "Interesting that you think that you have any options. That it's up to you whether or not to accept your fate. It has never struck me that way."

"I just wish I'd been a little nicer to witches, that's all. I'd already be out of here, if Emily Bennett wasn't such a colossal bitch. And I wouldn't have ended up here in the first place, if Bonnie Bennett hadn't been entirely incompetent."

"Oh, yes, you and witches. I've met Bree, by the way. She and Lexi just love talking shit about you."

Damon snorted. "Awesome. I wonder if I have a visit from the two of them together to look forward to. They can tag team to tell me what a terrible person I am. Was. Still am. Whatever."

"Maybe. Bree goes where she wants to, of course. So if she doesn't want to see you, she doesn't have to."

"Wait- so how do I come and see you where you are?"

"You did come to see me."

Damon stared at her. "Um . . . no, _you_ came to see me. This is my field."

"Oh, right. No, I don't see a field. I'm at market day in my old village. Only there aren't any people around, only the empty buildings and stalls. I was here, sitting on the edge of my well, when you showed up. You walked up and sat beside me on the well wall."

"Why do you get a nifty village, and all I get is this stupid empty field?"

"Where did you die, Damon?"

"On Elena's front porch."

"No, I mean, where did you really die? The first time?"

"You mean where did my dear father shoot me in the back? It was a lane near our old house, running through the woods. It wasn't in the middle of a field, that's for sure."

"I didn't die on the edge of an old well, either. It was over there." Rose pointed in a direction to the right, where all Damon could see was a clump of trees. "Down an alley by the tavern. That's where Mary Porter turned me. She said she was bored, and I was pretty."

Damon kept looking in that direction. He stood up and started walking. It felt like the field was contracting, getting shorter. He reached the edge of it quicker than he felt he should have. And sure enough, through the trees, he could see the muddy lane where he and Stefan had breathed their last as humans. "My father must have stood right about here. He would have crossed that field to reach this spot to shoot us."

Rose stood beside him. "Well, the middle of the field where you keep appearing? I'm willing to bet it was at that spot that he made the decision to kill you. The edge of the well is where Mary Porter was sitting when she first saw me walking to the tavern. It was where she decided to turn me."

"Is it daytime for you?"

"Most of the time, even though I was turned right after dusk. It's like the perfect summer day at noon right now."

"I was killed at night. So why is it always day for me here?"

Rose hesitated. "Don't try to bring on the dark, Damon. Don't wish for it to be night. Just be grateful when it is day."

"Okay, that's cryptic and creepy. How did you appear in my field?"

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking about you, and it happened. That's generally the way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think about Trevor all of the time, and I have never been able to find him."

"Maybe he moved on, found peace?"

Rose laughed. "I don't think so. Trevor could be a right bastard. If you stacked his victims to the sky, you could reach the moon. No, I think that is the greatest of the punishments. Seeing Trevor again is what I want the most, therefore it is the one thing most denied to me."

Damon grimaced. "Well, that doesn't bode well for me and my mission statement."

"I don't suppose that it does." Rose started to flicker. "Oh, no. Oh dear. The burning. It's the burning, Damon." She choked on a sob, and then vanished.

Damon closed his eyes. His poor Rose.

When he opened them, he was back in the middle of the field again, a spot he had a brand new appreciation for. He could picture his father striding across the grass in the dark, gun slung over his shoulder, pausing here at this spot to say to himself, "I'm going to shoot those sons of mine and kill them dead, the dirty vamp sympathizers."

His father had a lot in common with Evil Ric, Damon supposed. More than one thing.

* * *

He tried what Rose had suggested. He thought about how much he wanted to see Elena. He pictured her sweet face the way he had seen it last, so scared on the threshold of the Gilbert house as she faced down Ric. He thought about the last time they were alone, when she bared her neck to him out of love.

When that didn't take him anywhere, he thought hard about Stefan. He thought about his brother, and all the years they had tried to make things work between them. He thought about Stefan at six years old, his face covered in sticky jam, his pocket full of rocks that he thought were special.

No dice.

So instead, he thought about just how pissed off he was at Jeremy Gilbert.

That did the trick. He was standing in Jeremy's room, right behind Jeremy, who was sitting at his computer desk with his headphones on. Damon reached out a hand, and swiped at the back of Jeremy's head. He was pleasantly surprised to hear and feel a satisfying thwack.

"Ow!" Jeremy put his hand on his head, and ripped off his headphones. He spun around in his chair. "Holy fuck! How did you do that?"

Damon looked down at his hand. "I have no idea." He reached over and tried to hit Jeremy again, but his hand went right through Jeremy's head, and he could not make contact. "Huh. That is disappointing. I really want to hit you again."

Jeremy stood up and backed away. "You need to go away. I'm not talking to you. I don't see you."

"What's dead must stay dead," Damon mimicked. "You punk ass kid. Do you know what an idiot you sound like, Resurrection Boy? The next time I snap your fucking neck, I'm ripping your ring off first. Then we'll see how you feel about the dead staying dead."

"You can't be here."

Damon flourished his hands. "And yet, here I am. And I'm going to follow you around making you miserable until you fucking do what I want you to do. Do you understand me? Get your witch here, I need to talk to her."

There was a knocking on Jeremy's door. "Jer? You okay?"

Jeremy cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, Elena. Everything's fine. I was just on the phone. Wrong number."

"Okay. Making popcorn, you want some?"

"No, thanks."

Damon heard Elena's footsteps going back downstairs. "Well, she's not hiding in my closet crying anymore."

"Dude, it's been a week since you died. She's over it." Jeremy smirked at him.

"Right. Sure she is."

Damon thought about being in the Gilbert kitchen. He flickered, and was there.

Elena was putting a bag of popcorn into the microwave. Her movements were automatic, her features were wan and drawn. She paused while putting the numbers into the microwave timer, her hand in midair. Then her hand dropped, and she walked away from the kitchen and away from the microwave without bothering to turn it on. Dropping onto the couch, Elena sat, staring at the tv, which was showing the local news.

Damon slowly walked over to her. He kneeled in front of her. He tried to take her hands, but could not touch her. Elena looked right through him.

Stefan came through the new front door, which hadn't been painted yet. "Hey."

"You came back."

"Of course I did." He held up a white paper bag. "You were complaining about the dosage, so I had Dr. Fell change it. This is your new prescription."

"I don't want to take them anymore."

Stefan sighed. "We've been through this, Elena. It's not forever. Dr. Fell says you will only need them until you start feeling more like yourself. Maybe just a couple more weeks, okay?"

"But that's just it. They don't make me feel like myself. They make me feel nothing."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Stefan?" Damon asked, although he knew they couldn't hear him. "Drugs? You put Elena on _drugs_ because she was too fucking sad for you to deal with? Are you that big of a pussy?"

Damon had never wanted to kick his brother's ass so bad in his life.

"Please, Elena. Two more weeks."

"Okay, if you say so," Elena responded, her eyes not leaving the tv screen.

"I talked to Elijah today. He called about an hour ago."

"Uh huh."

"Alaric tracked down Kol yesterday. Kol is dead, and presumably so are all of the descendants from his line. Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah have scattered to different parts of the world. He also told me that he's fairly certain that Klaus is the one who originated our line. Obviously, it wasn't Kol. And Alaric managed to find a witch to make him a daylight ring, so he's far more dangerous now. You will have to start staying inside during the day as well as at night from now on. Do you understand?"

"Was Elijah sad?"

Stefan hesitated. "Pardon?"

"When his brother died. Was he sad?"

"I don't know. Hard to say if he was. Not overly so, I don't think."

Elena stood up. "Good. Because if he was too sad, you would all make him take horrible medicine that he hates and which bottle him up so tight that he could literally explode into tiny confetti pieces at any moment. It's a crime to be too sad, apparently. Good night. I'm going to bed."

Stefan reached out a hand and grabbed her arm. "Elena, don't. Let's talk about this."

"You are supposed to let me make my own decisions, remember, Stefan? Isn't that the deal we made when you moved in here?"

"And you don't want to take the pills anymore."

"No. I've only been taking them so you would stop looking at me with that frowny face you do. I hate the frowny face."

"But they have been helping you."

"Helping me to do what, Stefan? To forget Damon? I don't think so."

Stefan dropped his hand from her arm. "I don't want you to forget Damon."

"No, you just wanted to get me out of his closet. I understand, Stefan. And I'm sorry. Sorry that my grieving freaked you out so bad. Sorry that you had to throw me over your shoulder, and carry me here like a tantruming toddler."

"You have been through more than anyone should ever have to deal with, Elena. More pain and loss than any eighteen year old should know. It's not shameful that you might need medicinal help to process everything. It's not like we can take you to a psychiatrist - not unless I can find one versed in vampire issues."

"Funny, Stefan. And I don't feel any shame. I don't feel anything at all. Good night."

Defeated, Stefan watched her go upstairs, his brow furrowed.

Damon followed her up. He looked back at his brother over his shoulder. "Drugs? You should have known better, Stef. I am totally in agreement with Elena on this one. Although, I don't blame you for at all for dragging her home like a toddler. That was just good sense. 'Night, brother."

He followed Elena into her bedroom, and watched her from the bed as she changed into her pajamas. He scooted over when she lay down, and he wrapped himself around her after she turned out the lights.

This was okay. It wasn't great. It wasn't like he could actually touch her. It wasn't like she knew he was there. But it was better than being stuck on that scrubby field of grass, not knowing how she was. Not knowing if she was scared, if she was alone, if she was unbearably sad.

Elena and Damon lay there together. Neither one of them sleeping.

* * *

Damon had expected to be thrown back into the darkness and the falling at some point in the night. But it didn't happen. Morning came, and he was still there, still in Elena's bed. It was a miracle to him, since he had thought he would be long lost in the burning by that time.

Elena had slept very little. No tossing and turning, just staring at the wall, as though she was waiting for something to happen. Damon whispered to her most of the night. He told her he loved her, he told her that he missed her, he told her that he was going to kick both of their brothers' asses as soon as was able to. He told her stories about what their life was going to be like together someday - that he had not given up hope and that she shouldn't either. He talked and talked until his throat went dry. He felt her finally drift off into something like sleep at around 4am.

The hours floated by for Damon. He had his girl, she was with him. It didn't matter that she didn't know it.

Jeremy poked his head around the door at eight o'clock. "You awake?"

His eyes went wide when he saw Damon in his sister's bed. "Holy-"

Elena opened her bleary eyes. "Jeremy? What's wrong?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Jeremy. What's wrong? Other than the fact that you are being a freaking asshole."

"Um, nothing. Is uh . . . is everything okay with you?"

Elena sat up in bed, and pushed the covers off. "Yes. I'm fine."

"Okay."

"Hey, Jer?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Stefan tell you that Ric has a daylight ring now? You need to be staying home from school, too."

"Why? That doesn't seem necessary. It's not like I'm some kind of fancy doppelganger. He could never get an Original to come back to Mystic Falls just by grabbing me."

"Yes, he could. If he grabs you, he knows he's basically got me. Understand?"

Jeremy gave his sister a stern look.

"That's dumb, Elena. Doesn't matter what happens to me, you are not going anywhere with him. But if it will make you feel better, then fine. I wasn't crazy about going in today anyway. Big test in Bio."

"Oh, you are still going to take that test. I'm going to call the school and tell them you caught my mono, and have them send all of your tests and assignments home with mine."

"Ew." Jeremy made a face. "You are going to tell everyone that I caught _your_ mono? Dude. Gross."

Elena sighed. "Fine. You broke your leg. Whatever. It's just until this is all over." She ran a hand through her hair. "I just want it to be over."

"I know. Me, too."

Elena looked up at her brother. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Have you . . . did you try again?"

Jeremy didn't meet her eyes. He didn't meet Damon's either. "Um, yeah. I've been trying every day. Haven't seen Damon at all. Haven't seen anybody. I don't know, maybe I don't see ghosts anymore, or something. Maybe I'm broken."

"Okay," Elena said, with a sad smile. "Thank you, Jeremy. I appreciate it."

Damon stared at Jeremy incredulously. "Liar. You fucking liar. You know what hell is like for fucking liars, Jeremy? Not fun, I can tell you that. Yeah, you're broken all right. Tell your sister that you can see me. Tell her I am right here, right now. Do it, you coward."

Jeremy kept his face resolutely blank. "Well, I'm going to make coffee. You want some?"

"Sure."

Damon followed Jeremy down the stairs, right on his heels.

"Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar," he chanted in Jeremy's ear all the way down.

Jeremy made coffee. "Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar," Damon continued.

Jeremy grabbed a bowl and poured himself some milk and cereal. He sat down at the kitchen table. "Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar." Damon got up close, and breathed into Jeremy's ear. "Fucking little liar."

Slamming his spoon down, Jeremy hissed at him, "I don't want you here. Go away."

Stefan walked into the dining area, and sat down across from him. "Jeremy, I'm sorry. I know how you feel about me being in the house. But I can't just go away. Not until we know that Alaric has been put away for good."

"Um . . . yeah." Jeremy looked down at his cereal, not meeting Stefan's eyes. "I mean - I get it, I really do."

"This has been hard on everyone, and it's been particularly hard on you. You've had to do a lot of adjusting."

"Yeah."

"I just wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you have been doing for your sister. It's great that she has you in her life."

"As long as we are speaking of Elena's life, I want all vampires out of it." Jeremy raised his eyes to look Stefan squarely in the face. "All vampires."

Stefan paused, and then said, "That might not be realistic for awhile. But believe me, Jeremy. You and I do want the same things for your sister."

Jeremy stood up. This time, he addressed Stefan, but looked directly at Damon. "I've seen the way you look at her. And I really don't think that we do."


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as Jeremy made eye contact with Damon, Damon felt a huge shove in the middle of his chest. He was thrust backwards, out of the kitchen, out of the house and into the darkness again.

"Awesome. Less awesome for me than for him, of course, but I am impressed," Damon thought. "I wonder if Jeremy even realizes that he can do that?"

This time, as the falling ended and the burning began, Damon started to play a little game with himself. As the flames licked higher and higher, he thought about all the things he had done in over 160 years to deserve this. And there were a lot of things.

He organized the kills he could remember. Not by name, because who the hell could remember the names of the people they had killed or eaten? Only a crazy person. Instead, he classified them by quality and taste. For the ladies, he gave extra stars according to hotness. Then he tried to recall who the tastiest and hottest one of them all was, and he settled on a blonde he met in the 1930s outside the picture show in Bakersfield, California. She was wearing a white dress with tiny violets on it, and she had tasted like Georgia peaches. He remembered the flavor, savored it in his head, and ignored the fact that his liver had just burned to a crisp.

* * *

After the burning, he lay on the grass as usual. But something was very different. It was dark. No more sunny blue skies, only a duskiness. Not dark the way _the_ darkness was- nothing could be as dark as that. No, this was the normal kind of dark, the kind you get at the close of day. Damon remembered what Rose had said, and wondered what fresh hell this was going to be.

After the normal waiting for the hot lead to melt, the soot to clear, his eyelids to come back, Damon sat up. There were noises in this night, but they did not sound threatening. Very familiar, though. Talking, laughter, and song. Song? A harmonica, as well. Somebody playing very softly a song that Damon knew down to the core of his being. There was only one place he had ever heard that song sung in that way.

_A hundred months have passed, Lorena,_

_Since last I held that hand in mine,_

_And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena,_

_Though mine beat faster far than thine._

"Very funny, Emily," Damon said. He stood, and faced eastward, where he could see tents and the glow of campfires. "Emily!" Damon called out. "You utter bitch! Come and face me."

"Private Salvatore, why are you out of uniform?"

Damon turned. He had to physically stop his arm from going up in a salute. "Fucking hell."

"Private, I asked you a question."

"Yeah, heard you, Captain Hicks."

"And?"

"And? And up yours, you psycho loon? Everyone knows you are one crazy ass fucker, with your stupid mustache and that . . . that . . . you know what?" Damon sighed. "I got nothing. You weren't really that bad, now that I think about it. We all just hated you because that's what kids do when you drag them off to fight a shit war. You hate the men above you who keep sending you out to die. But you were probably a decent guy in your own way, am I right? Loved your country, loved your family, paid your taxes, went to church? Not that it mattered much in the end. You end up dying in your tent alone, of dysentery. Dysentery, of all the embarrassing things." Damon reached out and patted the officer on the shoulder. "They are going to tell your mother that you died a hero, but you really died of the runs. Sorry, dude."

Captain Hicks started to sputter at him. "What- you-!"

Damon patted him again. "So . . . now you are going to haul me off for an impromptu court martial, yes?"

Captain Hicks just looked at him blankly. Damon sighed again. "Take me to your leader?"

The captain nodded, and took Damon sternly by the arm. Damon wanted to laugh. He'd been terrified of Bicky Hicky and his bushy mustache back in 1864. Now the poor guy just looked like something out of a comic operetta.

Captain Hicks marched Damon over to three officers conferring beside a tent, the night lit up by their campfire. They were poring over a crude map. "Now see here, if we counter their flank right by this crossroad . . ."

Captain Hicks cleared his throat, and thrust Damon at them.

"Yes, Captain?" The oldest of three inquired politely.

"Sirs, this soldier here is being insurbordinate and needs to be disciplined."

"Ah, Private Salvatore. Seems that we have met you in this position before."

"Howdy, gents."

"You are out of uniform, soldier. And you are not answering the Major in the proper fashion."

"Just came up to tell you three something. Not really a formal occasion, no uniform necessary. You see, this war of yours . . . this pathetic little war, with it's fleeting moments of glory and it's overwhelming stench and uselessness . . . this little war of yours will end someday. But nowhere near as soon as you would like. Not soon enough. And it will end in a rather magnificent loss for your side. For both sides, really. Nobody truly gets to win, no matter what the politicians say. There is nothing but loss, and pain, and mud, and blood in your futures. The country turns out okay, more or less, but not for quite some time. And you will all be long dead before the South ever comes close to getting back on it's feet again. It's a crappy, dumb war, gentlemen. And the longer it persists, the crappier and dumber it's going to get."

The look Damon gave the three men was more kind than not, as he pointed at the youngest officer. "You die at Manassas, Corporal Jennings. I never heard how, exactly, but I'm assuming it wasn't a fun death. And that girl back home you used to tell us boys about, so steadfast and true? She marries your brother, the one with the general store, even before she gets word of your death. I laughed when I heard about that, but I'm sorry for laughing now. Sucks when your brother gets your girl, trust me."

He turned to the officer sitting in the middle, holding the map. "You, Lieutenant Henry, survive the war, and things go right peachy for you. Until I catch up with you in a brothel in New Orleans in 1868, and I eat you. You did not taste great, but that lady you were with? Bluebelle or Maribelle or whatever? She was delicious. Three stars, easy. I hunted you down specifically for that incident when you called me a pansy. Not because I was so mad at the insult, but because it was just such a lame one. And I was bored, and needed something to do."

Then he turned to the oldest officer. "Major Ledbetter, you also survive the war - and then choke to death on a chicken bone in 1899. I don't really have anything against you, but I did sleep with your wife that one time when she visited the regiment outside of Richmond. Oh my word, she was hot. In every way. I mean, seriously, I think she might have been running a fever at the time. After you died, I tracked her down, but she had gotten kind of fat. Still pretty hot - I mean, I did sleep with her again."

Damon took a step back, and looked at all three men, their eyes popping out, their mouths open. "Okay, fellas, have fun being losers. You know, like literally."

He shook off Captain Hicks as the gallant captain tried to restrain him. "Don't make me break you, Bicky Hicks."

_"And what we might have been, Lorena, h__ad but our loving prospered well_," Damon hummed and sang a little as he walked away. Generally, nostalgia was a bitch, but this? This had felt pretty good.

Captain Hicks caught up to him. "Your billet is that way, soldier. You're going the wrong way. You're leaving the encampment."

Damon turned to him. "Seriously? We're still playing at this? This is not my war, Captain. It was not my war then, and it's sure as hell not my war now."

"You're still a soldier, and we fight on the morrow."

"Give me something to fight for, and I'll fight." Damon stepped up close to Captain Hicks, and stared him in the eyes. "You hear that, Emily Bennett? Give me something to goddamn fight for, and you have yourself a fucking soldier."

The campfires, the tents, the officers and the harmonica all faded away. The captain morphed into Emily, in her familiar long skirts and bonnet.

"What gave me away?"

"You smelled too good. Bicky Hicks, the real one, smelled like pine tar all the time. We boys could never figure out why."

"You are still so angry, Damon."

"No shit, Emily. Don't you think I have good cause to be?"

"I like that you are angry. It's a good thing. Useful."

Damon paused, and looked at her. "That's an interesting turn of phrase. You want to put me to use? Do so. But I'll have demands of my own."

Emily smiled. "I'm sure you will."

"What was the point of this charade, anyway? Not that I didn't enjoy it."

"I wanted to remind you of your time as a soldier, and what it meant to be one. Sacrifice, loss, and determination. I knew night was coming for you, Damon. This was just a way to pass the time until you felt the night."

"Are we talking about the darkness? Been there, survived that."

"Oh, no. Not that. Do you know how close you came to death on the battlefields as a soldier?"

Damon shrugged. "Don't know, don't care."

"An inch or two this way, a step back when you should have stepped forward, a twist to the right instead of the left - every battle, every time, death missed you again and again. You were luckier than you can imagine."

"Yeah, I feel like a pretty lucky guy. Can't you tell?"

"And then you decided that the war was over for you, and you returned home to your father and your brother."

"And Katherine."

"Exactly. As close as you were to death in every battle, you were never closer than when you were at home in the bosom of your family. Death walked beside you, then. Death danced with you. You chased Death through the garden. You invited Death to sleep in your bed."

Damon smirked. "Don't recall that she did much sleeping there."

Emily looked around her. "It's almost time. When the night comes for you, hold on to your anger, Damon. Be the soldier who dodges death again and again."

"What the fuck is so scary about the night?"

"Fear and then despair, Damon." Emily paused. "Oh, and the knives. You are going to hate the knives."

Emily flickered and was gone.

So Damon sat down on his scrubby grass again, and waited for the knives.

* * *

Fear came first. It was dark and a little bit chilly, but that didn't matter to Damon. He had never minded being in the dark. But the actual feeling of fear took him by surprise. It was a creeping and a crawling that started at the base of his spine and went up to the tip of his head. Stark, raving fear. A very personal fear.

It didn't take Damon very long at all to realize that it was the fear his victims had felt before he killed them. Their faces, and their eyes, and their fear came before him in flashes. He felt the way they had felt. He saw himself as a monster, as a predator, the way they had seen him. Helplessness and fear that went on forever.

Except that it didn't. Because when the fear finally faded away, the despair set in. The grief and despair felt by those that had loved the ones he had killed. Layer upon layer of grief, so dense and so heavy that Damon couldn't sit up. He couldn't breathe. He was crushed beneath it, beneath visions of grieving husbands and wives, and mothers and children. He had rendered so many children motherless or orphans. Their struggles, their tears, the pain and the loss kept piling on top of him. The bleakness. The depth of it all.

The despair also faded away. Damon sat, and then, eventually with much effort, was able to stand. If knives were coming, he wanted to be on his feet.

The dark resolved into a series of shadows. Innumerable shadows, that writhed and walked, and came closer and closer. In the hands of each shadow there gleamed a knife. Even in the dark, he could see the way they shone, as they moved closer to him. Every shadow a victim, he assumed. There were so many.

At first, he remembered what Emily had said, and he became the soldier that dodged and twisted, and evaded the knives. He wasn't paralyzed, he could move. He could fight. But there were too many for fighting, there was only surrender. And so he lay down and let them stab his innards and slice his veins. He let them cut and carve.

Because honestly, why not? He knew very well whatever pain they caused him was nothing to what he had caused them when they had been alive.

* * *

A kind of light finally dawned, and the shadows melted. Damon continued to lay there on the grass, his chest heaving. Every bit of him sliced and gaping open, his body lying in a giant puddle formed by his blood, thick and black.

At that moment he probably would have welcomed the burning.

The blood drained away, the veins and slices healed. Damon brushed off the crusts of dried blood from his skin, and sat up. To his right, he could see Emily's long cambric skirts again. With great difficulty, he stood, and he faced her.

"I'm not going to ask why," Damon said. "Because I know why. I'm certainly not going to cry and say that this is unjust. It's justice is self evident. All I can say is that it _sucked_."

Emily nodded. "I wouldn't know personally, but it never looks very pleasant."

"Of course, you wouldn't know. I doubt that's something you witches designed for yourselves. Only for your honored guests."

"You are not _our_ guest, Damon. The witches did not create this place. We are not the hosts here."

"Really? Who is?"

Emily shrugged. "I do not know if there is one. Does it matter?"

"So it's not you who are setting up these torments? Because it felt pretty personal to me."

"The burning is impersonal, impartial. A general judgement. But the night? That is wholly personal. To each it is different according to how they lived while on earth."

"You told me to fight and to dodge. But there were too many for that."

"And whose fault is that, Damon? If your sins had been fewer, you would have faced fewer knives."

Damon laughed. "I can't decide if Stefan is going to hate this place or love it. I think it's going to suit his self loathing just perfectly. But hey - if you witches are not in charge around here . . . " Damon smacked himself in the forehead. "I've been asking the wrong people to send me back."

"Have you been?"

Damon gave her a thoughtful look. "No. I haven't, have I? Esther sent Vicky back, didn't she? Clearly, it can be done."

Emily sat down on the grass, and motioned for him to sit as well. "Come, Damon. I'm here to open negotiations with you. I am, as you say, going to give you something to fight for."

Damon sat down, and gave her a crooked grin. "It's about fucking time."


	8. Chapter 8

"There is a war going on."

"Is there? Are we talking Afghanistan, Rwanda, the war on poverty? Or something more metaphysical?"

"There is a war going on between the witches here on the Other Side. Esther and her supporters are quite determined to wipe the entire vampire race from the surface of the earth. They want to send all of them here, and free humankind from vampire predators. And they already have their champion."

"My dear friend Ric."

"Yes. And they are winning. Staking Kol sent over a thousand vampires here in a single day. Even now Alaric Saltzman is closing in on his next prey. He is very close to finding Rebekah. Rebekah has over three thousand descendants."

"And you don't like that? Think there's going to be an overcrowding problem?" Damon asked, looking out over his expansive, empty field.

"There are many of us who do not see the world in such black and white terms. Many of us who count vampires among our friends, lovers and family."

"Ah, like yourself. You were well wrapped up in vampires and their issues when alive. And now there is Abby, of course." Damon looked at Emily. "I always wondered why, you know. You were obviously such a powerful witch, and yet you were Katherine's servant. With your power, it should have been the other way around."

Emily laughed. "I was a black woman in the 1860s American South, Damon. And I was with Katherine out of love, not servitude." She shook her head at his raised eyebrow. "Not that kind of love. She found me, recognized my power when no one else did. She took me away from a hardscrabble life. I was born free, but never treated that way until I met Katherine. She gave me a purpose, too. My life was interesting, exciting, and dangerous. It was what I wanted. And now I pay for that life."

Taken aback, Damon remarked, "You burn, too, don't you Emily? Not the knives for you, because you weren't a killer. But still, you burn."

Emily looked away. "Yes. You can't follow Katherine Pierce for that many years without blotting your copybook many times. And so, I burn. I told you, Damon, we witches are not in charge here. We have extra flexibility and responsibilities. But we are guests the same as you."

"Don't tell me that you are doing this because you still love Katherine. I don't believe that. She betrayed you."

"Oh, I know. I do know that. It doesn't erase my fondness for her. But no, I did not choose the side that I did because of Katherine. I chose it because of my descendants. Abby, Bonnie and Lucy. Lucy, especially. She has petitioned me to intervene."

"Lucy?" Damon wrinkled his brow in thought. "Katherine's witch from last year's masquerade?"

"Yes. Her partner in life is a vampire who descends from Rebekah's line. We have been in communication. All of the Bennett witches on the Other Side are together in this endeavor, with the exception of Ayanna. She has chosen to side with Esther. We also have the Martin line of witches on our side. They, too, have long been involved with vampire issues, as you put it, and have vampires among their descendants. The majority of the other witch spirits are either divided on the issue or remaining neutral. We have been having spirited discussions, as you can imagine."

Damon grinned at her. "Look at you, Emily. Making a pun. Well, this glimpse into dead witch politics is fascinating, of course, but where do I come in?"

"Esther has her champion. And now, so do we."

Damon laughed. "Absolutely, you do. So? Let's get to this. You know where Ric is, so send me there and I'll kill the bastard, and this whole thing will be over."

Emily shook her head. "Impatient, as always. It will take a good deal of power to send you back in a form capable of countering Esther's vampire hunter. The witches will need to confer. There must be an equal pull to our push, Damon. There will need to be a lot of power extended in the earthly realm as well."

"So? Get Bonnie on that. Oh, wait, you said 'a lot of power'. Have Lucy do it, then. Bonnie showed herself to be incompetent with the total fail of her last attempt to put Ric away. The one that got me killed."

"That was not Bonnie's fault. Her powers did not fail her."

"Oh, yeah? Who is to blame, then?"

"Abby did not want Bonnie to perform dark magic. When she told Bonnie the spell, she left out a step."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"The agent needed to drink some of Bonnie's blood before making contact with the vampire hunter's heart. That is why the spell failed. There was no connection between the spell caster and you. Abby knew that having the spell fail might mean her own demise as well, but it was a sacrifice she thought worthwhile to rid the earth of vampires. She is afraid that her daughter is too caught up in vampire problems and drama. She saw this as a way to free Bonnie forever."

"I am fucking going to kill Abby. Again." Damon swore. He caught Emily's eye. "Or does that go against what we are doing here?"

Emily said, "Very much so, I'm afraid. Abby was just trying to protect Bonnie. If we send you back, you must promise not to harm her, or any witch."

"Fine," Damon grumbled. "But let's hope I don't actually have to see her again. I will ask you one thing, though. Why me? Why can't you send Kol? I'm sure he wants that evil bastard dead, too."

"Kol, Finn and Mikael belong to Esther. I cannot even access them."

"Bet they are having fun with mommy dearest. I'd take the knives any day."

"Besides, Damon, you have nothing to lose. If Alaric Saltzman kills you, you return here and you have lost nothing. We can even try again if we decide to. But if you kill him . . . well, then you will have gained a great deal, that I can promise."

"I like the sound of that. So what is the next step? What do I need to do?"

Emily stood. "Just wait, Damon. Like any good soldier, you just need to wait for your orders. Exercise a little patience, you need the practice, anyway."

Damon gave her a salute. "Aye, aye, cap'n. Can do."

* * *

Patience not being among Damon's virtues, he spent the next few hours concentrating on getting out of his field and back to the earthly realms to see Elena again. The burning, the night, the knives . . . none of that compared to the simple ache of longing he felt when he thought of her.

Again, just wanting to see her was not enough. He focused on Jeremy, instead. Hey, it had worked before.

And it did once again. Damon found himself in the Gilbert living room, sitting beside Jeremy as he played a video game on the television.

"Boo."

"Ay!" Jeremy gave a little jump.

"Did you say something, Jer?" Elena called from the kitchen.

"Um, nope. Just killing this guy. On the screen," Jeremy responded. He gave Damon a glare. Jeremy took a deep breath, but then Damon held up a hand.

"Nu huh. Not this time. I know you have figured out how to send me back, and that's super cool for you. But let me stay, just for a bit, okay? I won't bug you, I promise. Won't call you names. Won't even try to hit you. I will respect your choice not to tell anyone that you can see me." Damon gave him a look that was almost gentle. "Please, Jeremy. Let me stay. You don't know what it's like back there. Let me stay just for awhile."

Jeremy swallowed, and then nodded. He blinked back his tears. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Sorry for before. Sorry it's like that for you."

Damon nodded, too. "It's okay, dude. You love your sister, I get it."

They sat there in silence, watching the characters on screen hit, kick, fight and die.

"How long has it been?" Damon asked him, quietly.

Jeremy held up two fingers. "Almost," he whispered.

"Almost two weeks?"

Jeremy nodded.

"Thank God, I thought you were going to tell me two months. I have no way of tracking time at all." Damon stood up, and flickered into the kitchen. He studied Elena's face, as she made herself a cup of tea. He could tell at once that she had stopped taking the medication that she hated. The color was back in her face, but her eyes were a bit swollen.

"I'm glad they are letting you feel again, Elena," He said to her, in a gentle tone. "It hurts me that you are hurting. But hurting is better than not feeling at all. Trust me on that." He stroked her cheek, even though he could not make actual contact.

Jeremy had turned on the couch, and was watching them.

Elena looked up at her brother. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he responded. "Everything's fine." He turned back to his game.

Stefan came slowly down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Damon could tell he was tired. "Holding everything together, brother?" Damon asked him, equally as gentle with his brother as he had been with Elena. "Sucks that it all falls on you. And you actually do miss me, don't you? I can see that. It's etched on your face."

Stefan reached out for Elena, and she came into his arms for a long hug. "You had a rough night." Stefan said to her, stroking her hair and holding her close.

She pulled away, not looking at him. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sure that I kept you up."

"It's okay. You know that."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I haven't heard you cry. When are you going to grieve for your brother, Stefan?"

Stefan shrugged. "I have a job to do, Elena. Keeping you and Jeremy safe is all I can think about right now."

Elena gave him a long look, and then said, "It'll come. And when it does, when you start to feel sad, let me know. I'd like to feel sad with you."

Stefan nodded.

"Have you heard anything from Elijah?" Elena asked.

"He thinks Alaric is in Ireland. Which is not good, considering that's where Rebekah went. She's heading south, the last Elijah heard. Elijah is going to go to Europe to lay a trail to lead Ric away from Rebekah."

"Where is Klaus?"

"Klaus hasn't been keeping in touch with Elijah. I don't think there is much trust there."

"It makes me nervous not knowing where Klaus is. I know it's wrong of me, but I can't be too concerned about Ric stalking Rebekah. She's not connected to anyone we know."

"It's not wrong of you, it's understandable. Caroline is going to come over, okay? She wants to know if Bonnie can come, too."

Elena stared at the floor. "Yes, it's okay."

"It wasn't Bonnie's fault," Jeremy interjected. "You can't keep on blaming her."

"I know, Jer. I don't. I just-" Elena sighed. "I keep replaying it all in my head. If the spell had only worked, if we had hit Ric with more vervain bombs, if we had invited him inside instead of Damon going out onto the porch . . . if I had just turned myself over to him at the high school in the first place. Things could have been different. Damon would still be here."

Jeremy's eyes went to Damon. "Yeah, I get it. But it happened the way that it did. No going back."

Damon rolled his eyes at him. "No need to be so obvious, Gilbert. It's not like I don't know where you stand on this."

There was a knock at the door, and everyone froze.

"That's not Caroline's knock," Stefan said. He held a finger up to his lips, and moved to the door. He paused in front of it.

Damon thought himself on the Gilbert porch and flickered there. There were three women standing in front of the door.

He flickered back into the living room. "It's not Ric or Klaus, no worries. Although, I think one of them might be a vampire, so no invites, okay?" He told Jeremy.

Jeremy started to nod, and then caught himself. He looked at Elena and then Stefan, to see if they had noticed. "You said Ric was in Ireland, right? So it should be okay. Probably girl scouts."

Stefan opened the door, but just a crack. "Yes?"

The woman who had knocked on the door gave him a smile. "I'm Lucy Bennett." She indicated a woman behind her, "This is Leslie." And then a teenage girl standing with them. "And this is Grace. Emily Bennett sent us."

Elena gave a start, and then walked up to behind Stefan's shoulder. "Emily sent you?'

"Yes. I think you need our help. I know that we need yours."

"Would you like to come-"

"Elena, no," Jeremy said quietly, coming up behind his sister. "No offense."

"Oh," Elena ran a hand through her hair and smiled apologetically at Lucy. "Sorry, we have to be careful."

Lucy nodded. "Understood. Leslie can stay out here, if you like. She's the only vampire among us."

Stefan gave Leslie a hard look, but said politely, "If you don't mind."

He stood aside, and let Lucy Bennett and the teenage girl enter.

"Please, sit," Elena said, sitting down on the couch. Stefan sat on the other end of the couch, so Damon also sat down, right in between them.

Once everyone was situated, Grace's eyes grew large and she gave a little wave towards the couch. "Oh, you must be Damon Salvatore."

Stefan, confused, shook his head. "No, sorry. I'm Stefan. Stefan Salvatore. Damon was my brother."

"Not you," Grace said, with a little shake of her own. She pointed at Damon. "Him."

Jeremy gave a little groan. "Oh, shit."

Garce looked over at Jeremy. "You must be Jeremy, then. I thought you could see him."

Jeremy was embarrassed. "Yeah. Um-"

Elena turned towards Jeremy. "I don't understand." She looked at the spot beside her on the couch. "Damon is here? Jeremy?"

"Tell Elena not to blame Jeremy," Damon said to Grace. "Don't let her get angry with him. He's just a kid who loves his sister. A stupid punk ass kid. But just a kid."

"Damon says that you shouldn't be mad at your brother. Elena, right?" Grace gave Elena a smile. "Jeremy was trying to protect you, I guess."

"I didn't want you to love a ghost the rest of your life," Jeremy mumbled. He didn't look at his sister. "I'm sorry. But you were so sad, and you weren't letting go."

Elena eyes filled with tears. She turned towards Damon and reached out her hand. "You're here? Really here?"

"Not as 'really' here as I would like," Damon responded. He reached a hand out to meet hers, desperate to make contact, but couldn't. "Nowhere near what I would like."

"He's there," Jeremy replied. "And he's trying to hold your hand." Jeremy looked away again. "God, this is awful."

"How long has he been here, Jeremy? How long have you been seeing him?" Stefan asked, quietly.

"He's been here a couple of times. Last week, and then again today. It's not like he's been hanging around here all of the time since he died, I swear."

"No, I've been too busy enjoying the delights of the Other Side. And it's not easy to get here, I can tell you that," Damon remarked. "And staying is even more difficult when you've got a teenage wiseass kicking you out whenever he gets the chance."

Grace asked, "And you pay a price, don't you? Every time you come and then go back?"

Damon gave her a look. "Smart kid. You know stuff. Yeah, there's always a price to pay. But please, don't tell them that."

Grace nodded.

Jeremy opened his mouth, but then closed it.

"What's he saying? Jeremy?" Elena asked.

Jeremy just shook his head. "He misses you, that's all."

Elena's face began to crumple. "I know he does. I miss him, too. It seems like an inadequate thing to say, though." She choked on a sob. Stefan reached over, as thought he was going to pull her closer to him on the couch, but then hesitated, looking at the space where his brother supposedly was.

"Oh, don't mind me, Stef," Damon said. "Go ahead and reach right through me to hug on my girlfriend. Doesn't bother me at all."

"Yeah, don't," Jeremy said to Stefan. "It would be weird."

Stefan nodded, and pulled back. He looked at Lucy. "Is that why Emily sent all of you? So we could make contact with Damon?"

Grace answered for her, "No. Emily sent us so we could bring him back."

Elena gave a soft exclamation, and her eyes began to shine. "When? Now? Is he coming back now?"

Lucy gave Grace a look, before saying, "Let's not jump ahead. It's not that simple. And please, don't start thinking that he's coming back for good, or to stay, or that he's ever going to be alive again. It doesn't work like that."

Damon groaned. "Seriously, people. If you don't stop saying that, I'm going to scream bloody murder at all of you."

"Why would Emily Bennett, of all people, want to send Damon back here, even if it's only temporarily?" Stefan asked.

"Because she needs a champion," Lucy explained. "Emily wants what we all want, she wants to stop Alaric Saltzman from wiping all vampires from the earth. Many of the witches on the Other Side want that. Sending your brother after him makes sense. We will use magic to make him stronger and more durable than he was in life. And if he can't take the hunter down, and he gets killed again, we can simply pull him back and start all over."

"Like a video game," Jeremy interjected. "You know? Like, we just hit the reset button every time Damon gets killed until he finally manages to defeat the boss." At everyone's else's look, Jeremy mumbled, "Okay, not very many video game players here, I guess."

"How do you even know about Ric?" Elena asked her. Her hand convulsively stroking the area of the couch where she thought Damon was sitting. He couldn't feel it, of course, but just the fact that she couldn't stop trying to make contact with him made Damon very happy.

"Leslie, my girlfriend, had a very good friend named William, who was turned by Kol Mikaelson over two hundred years ago. Kol was visiting Will last week in Kansas City, when Alaric Saltzman found him and staked him. Will was dead within the hour. He was actually on the phone with Leslie when he died. He was telling us about this crazy man who had come into the apartment, spouting nonsense about killing all vampires with only a few blows, and about how this guy was somehow fast enough and strong enough to pin Kol down and kill him. Kol was supposed to be invincible . . . he'd always told Will that he was. And then our friend just . . . just died. It was horrible. But we knew nothing about the whole plan and scope of things until Grace called us."

Elena turned to Grace. "I don't understand. How can you see Damon?"

"I died," Grace said, "almost a year ago. I was at school when it happened, in the school library. The librarian has always been a friend of mine. She brought me back." Grace added, matter of factly, "We're both witches, you see. I didn't even know I was a witch until she told me. She caught me setting a trash can on fire with my mind, and she's been helping me learn how to deal with my powers ever since. So when I died, she saved me."

"Nobody else in your family is a witch? They couldn't help you?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was adopted from China when I was just eighteen months old. I don't know who my birth family is. My parents adopted me and brought me to the US because I was a heart baby." She explained, "That just means I have a heart condition. Tetralogy of Fallot. I've had fourteen open heart surgeries. Good thing my dad is a cardiac surgeon. Anyway, I was supposed to be more or less cured, but I guess I sprung a leak. And after Mrs. Lee brought me back to life, I started seeing dead witches all the time." She looked over at Damon. "You're my first dead vampire, actually. Can I say, I'm kind of impressed? Emily didn't tell me you were ridiculously hot."

Damon gave her a wink. "I like you. Finally, a witch that I like."

Grace giggled. Elena smiled at her, amused. "I have no idea what he just said, but I should warn you that he's a flirt, Grace."

"He definitely is. I think this is going to be fun. Anyway, Emily wanted me to come here. So I told my parents I was going to cello camp, and here I am," Grace replied.

Elena stood, and walked over to the door. She opened it. "If you'd like to come in, you can," she said to Leslie.

Leslie followed her into the house. "I appreciate that," Leslie said, quietly. She sat on the edge of the arm of Lucy's chair, and Lucy reached over and took her by the hand.

Elena sat down on the couch again, her hand reaching over towards Damon once more.

"Leslie can trace her line directly to Rebekah Mikaelson. Grace called us because Emily asked her to. We didn't know each other at all. And I didn't even know that one of my ancestors had been watching me, and cared enough to contact me. Emily just wanted to let me know what was going on," Lucy bit her lip. "So Leslie and I could say goodbye if we needed to. But I couldn't let that be the end of things. So, through Grace, I asked Emily for her help. And Emily said she could send us a champion, someone to take down the vampire hunter and recover the stake. But that we would have to make it happen on this end. I don't think it's going to be easy."

Elena said, "We should call Bonnie."

"We are definitely going to need my cousin Bonnie's help. But there are other things we need, too," Lucy said.

"We have to have three anchors," Grace added. "Two of them are right here."

"What are they?" asked Stefan.

"You and Elena, actually. A blood anchor, that's you, because you are his brother. An emotional anchor, that's obviously Elena. Somebody has to want him to return as badly as he wants it."

"I do," Elena said, quietly.

Grace rolled her eyes. "No duh. Anyway, the third anchor is a physical one. Something Damon owned or wore."

Elena pulled a chain out from underneath her sweater. At the end of the chain was Damon's daylight ring. "This would work."

Stefan gave her a look. "You went to the crypt."

"I did."

"You weren't supposed to leave the house."

"I know."

Stefan looked away from her.

Grace shrugged. "Well, those are the anchors. We also need this other thing. It's a pendant that used to belong to the witch Ayanna and then later to the witch Esther. Emily said we could use it to channel a tremendous amount of energy, and it can block Esther and Ayanna if they are trying to block us. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes," Elena responded. "It's in a cave underground. The one vampires can't enter."

"I can get that," Jeremy said. "Just show me the easiest way down."

Grace said, "Good. And now we need time and place."

"Once Jeremy comes back with the necklace, then why not here and now?" Elena asked.

"I'm good with here and now," Damon interjected. "Super good with it, actually."

Grace shook her head. "Nope. The best place would be where he died, and around the same time of day or night, too."

"That was here," Stefan said. "On the porch. At around seven o'clock, I think."

"Oh, no, sorry. I meant, where he died as a human," Grace corrected. "I assume this house wasn't around back then."

Stefan looked flummoxed. "Where he died as a human? Oh."

Damon poked him in the side. "Dude. The dirt lane where daddy shot us both in the back? It's near a big stupid empty field that I'm already deathly bored of. Pardon the pun."

Jeremy piped up, "Damon says it was a lane next to a field, and that your dad shot you there. Really, your own dad killed you? That sucks."

Damon turned to him, and said, "Yeah, but Stefan ate him the next day. So that kind of made us even."

Grace's eyes got big, and she looked over at Stefan. "Wow."

"I know where that was in 1864, of course. Might take awhile to figure out where it is now, though." Stefan furrowed his brow.

Elena said, "Jenna had a bunch of old surveyor's maps of Mystic Falls. She never returned them to the Mystic Falls historical society. They are probably in a box in the garage."

Lucy said, "Actually, the second best place would be a spot Emily told Grace about - a place where a lot of witches were killed in this town? If we can't channel the energy from his death spot, that would work, too."

Stefan nodded and then stood up. He hesitated for a second. "I'll get the maps first. So . . . we are going to do this? Definitely?" He made eye contact with Elena.

Elena just looked at him. "Is there really any doubt, Stefan?"

Stefan just shook his head, and then left.

Elena turned to Grace once Stefan was gone. "Can you . . . can I talk to him?"

Grace shrugged. "You don't need me to talk to him. He can hear you. He's sitting right beside you, looking at you like you are the greatest thing to ever walk the earth."

"She is," Damon said to Grace with a smile. "You don't know her yet, but she totally is."


	9. Chapter 9

AN: In case anyone is wondering, our guest star, Grace, is played by Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina from Glee, and Michael Trevino's real life girlfriend). She has visited the TVD set in Covington and is friends with the TVD cast. So I have been hoping and hoping that Glee would get cancelled, so Jenna could join the TVD cast someday (no offense meant, Gleeks!). Got tired of waiting for it to happen in real life, so here we go.

* * *

"Well, he definitely loves you."

Elena smiled. But then she looked around, at the crowded living room. At her younger brother, clearly disapproving.

Grace gave her a bright, interested look. "You want to go upstairs? Be a little more private?"

Elena nodded, and then stood. "Jeremy, could you offer our guests something? We'll be right back." She turned, and walked up to her room.

"Sorry, Jeremy," Grace said, as she got up to follow Elena up the stairs. "No offense meant to your medium skills."

"Hey, trust me, I don't want any part of this," Jeremy responded. "Being the mediator between my sister and her dead vampire boyfriend? No, thanks."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Jeremy? 'Dead vampire' is redundant," Damon commented, as he followed Grace from the room.

Elena became embarrassed as they all sat down in her bedroom. "This is weird. I don't even know you."

"Oh, it'll be fine. Not that I have done this before, or anything. And I'm not signing up for any kinky stuff," Grace said. "Although, you are both really good looking, so no offense meant by that at all. I mean, if I _was_ going to sign up for a threesome with some chick and her dead vampire boyfriend, you guys would be at the top of the list, for sure."

Elena laughed, a small sound, but it made Damon's heart leap. It had been so long. "I understand, I think. I just want to know if Damon is okay. If he's . . . I don't know. Happy doesn't seem like the right word."

"Just talk directly to him," Grace suggested. "He's right beside you."

Elena turned to where Grace indicated Damon was on the bed. "Are you okay? Where you are, is it . . . I don't know, is it nice? That sounds stupid. I just want to know, is it peaceful there?"

Damon hesitated. "Lie to her for me, all right?" he said to Grace. "I don't think I can even say it aloud."

"Yes, Elena. He's fine. It's just, you know, all boring there and stuff."

"I'll bet he hates that," Elena said, "Damon can't stand being bored." She turned to him again, "Do I even have to say that I love you, and that I miss you, and that I wish you were here, really here? It goes without saying, right? Because I do, right down to the depths of my everything."

"Yeah," Damon said. "Right back at you, too. I love you. I didn't say that often enough when I had the chance. And it's been hard to watch you grieve for me. Last week, I held you for an entire night, even though you didn't know it."

"He loves you. Last week, he came here and held you for a whole night. He says he has seen you grieving for him."

"He did? He has?" Elena said, her eyes filling up again. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, and said, fiercely, "Well, I guess there is no doubt left anymore, is there? Do you finally believe me when I say that I choose you, Damon Salvatore? You, not your brother. No one else. Not ever."

"And do you believe me when I say that I will always find my way back to you, Elena Gilbert?"

Grace repeated, "He will always find his way back to you."

"Promise?" Elena asked, looking right where Damon was sitting, and reaching a hand towards him.

"Cross my heart," Damon responded, reaching his hand out to her.

"Cross my heart," Grace echoed again. "Wow, this is so sweet, you guys. You are totally going to make me cry."

* * *

Despite pleading a 'no kinky stuff' clause, Grace did finally agree to give Elena a small, quick kiss from Damon. It was just a peck, but it completely made Damon's day. Hell, it made his afterlife.

When they returned downstairs, he was still grinning about it, and Grace and Elena were both still a little pink faced.

Stefan had the old surveyor's maps spread over the kitchen table, and he and Jeremy were studying them together. Lucy and Leslie were on the couch, talking softly and holding hands.

Caroline and Bonnie were in the kitchen, making coffee, and pouring out wine. They both turned when Elena and Grace came in.

Caroline gave them a little wave. "Hey, there. Stefan and Lucy filled us in. So where is he?" She peered around Elena, as though she could see Damon hiding behind her.

"Hey, I'm Grace, but you probably already know that. Damon is over there," Grace said, pointing right beside Elena.

"I'm not entirely certain that I'm still speaking to Bonnie Bennett," Damon said. "She and her mother got me killed."

Grace said, "Damon says hi to both of you."

Damon rolled his eyes at her. "Great. Another smart ass teenage medium who thinks they know best. Fanfuckingtastic."

Bonnie reached out and shook Grace's hand. "It's really good to meet you, actually. I'm Bonnie, and this is Caroline. I didn't even know they had a line of witches in China."

"Well, duh, Bonnie," said Caroline. "Way to be U.S. centric. And racist. Was that racist?"

Grace shook her head. "I don't think so. Good to meet you, too, Bonnie."

Damon looked around and started to grumble. "Too many damn witches in this house. Making my skin crawl."

"Now that actually might have been racist, considering everything." Grace said to him. At everyone else's puzzled look, she said, "Damon is colorful, isn't he? I mean, I like him, but are you sure you want him back?"

Caroline paused to think it over. "Well . . . if it'll make Elena less sad, then I guess so."

Elena bumped Caroline with her shoulder. "Thanks, Care. Good to know you are looking out for me."

Bonnie said, "Well, at least you are smiling."

Elena looked at where Damon was standing. "I can't see him, but I can feel him, you know? It sounds weird," she smiled again. "But it feels good. Just knowing that we are occupying the same space again feels good."

Bonnie looked in that general direction, and cleared her throat. "I guess this is the right time to say that I don't know what went wrong with the spell, Damon. I'm sorry. I realize that's not good enough, but I am."

"Wasn't you. It was your mom," Damon responded. At Grace's look of inquiry, he said, "You can tell her, she needs to know. Her mom left out part of the spell on purpose so it wouldn't work. I was supposed to drink her blood before trying to stop Ric's heart."

"Wow. Are you sure you want me to tell her? That's hardcore. And with the blood drinking? That's super gross. Okay, then. Um . . . Bonnie, your mom didn't tell you the whole spell. She didn't want it to work. Damon was supposed to drink some of your blood before you guys tried the spell."

Bonnie was quiet. Then she nodded, and turned away to bring some mugs down from the cabinets.

Elena reached over, and rubbed Bonnie's shoulder. "Hey, there. So it wasn't your powers after all."

Bonnie just shook her head. "I don't even know what to say."

"Well, the good news is that we can try again now that we know what part was missing. That can be our go to spell to take down Ric the next time we get a chance," Damon said to Grace.

Grace nodded. "Okay, at least you have a plan."

Damon felt a slight shove in his chest. He looked down, and then over at Jeremy. "Dude. Hey, Jeremy, seriously? Thought we were done with this."

"What's wrong?" Grace asked.

Jeremy looked up from the surveyor's maps. "Damon, it wasn't me. I'm not doing anything, I swear."

Elena asked, fear in her voice, "What's going on? Damon?"

There was another shove. "Damnit. I don't know when I can come back. I don't know anything. Fuck no, don't make me leave right now." He looked over at Grace. "Tell Elena. Tell her I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell her I promise. Tell her-"

And the ground dropped away, and Damon was falling.

* * *

Damon had no way of knowing how much time was passing for the folks back in Mystic Falls. No way of knowing what the correlation was, if any. He was there, in his field, for endless sunny summer days. The burning came and went, but he was spared the night and the knives. No one came to see him. He failed in every attempt to return to the Gilbert house. He thought about all of the things he should have said when he had the chance. He should have taken the opportunity to talk to Stefan. He should have been nicer to Jeremy. He should have made Grace use tongue when she was kissing Elena for him.

And now that he was faced with the possibility of that being the last time he'd ever be able to make contact again, Damon got angry. The longer he waited there, for his 'orders' to come, the angrier he got. So by the time Esther decided to show up, Damon was ready for her.

"Hello, there."

"I know you."

"Do you? I don't think we've actually met. Not formally."

"We haven't? Well, let me introduce myself." Damon stood, and faced Esther. "I'm the man who is going to put your vampire hunter in the fucking ground."

"Are you?" Esther seemed very amused by the idea.

"And once I've done that, I'm coming back to rip your world apart. Because this place? This Other Side you all seem to be so content to exist in, this place is _shit_. Everyone in this goddamn place needs their asses kicked, especially you."

"Oh, you are full of fire, aren't you? And confident. Too confident. That will be your undoing, just as it was the last time."

"Nothing ever gets accomplished by the meek."

"I suppose that is true."

"It was you, wasn't it? You shoved me out of the Gilbert house this last time."

"Did I? I don't recall." Esther smiled at him, "So much love in that house. You do what you do out of love, don't you, Mr. Salvatore? Your whole life, all of your decisions big and small. You do everything you do out of the emotions in your heart. Pardon me, what used to be your heart."

"Yeah, and?"

"And my champion, my hunter, you see . . . he has no emotions. Nothing to trip him up, nothing to get in his way. No distractions, just a pure and true soldier. He knows his mission, and there is nothing and no one who can interfere with his purpose. You cannot win, you know. I thought it only fair to tell you. Not only can he not be swayed from his purpose, he cannot be defeated."

"I don't believe that for a second. Sure, Ric has probably turned it off, no surprise there. But I don't care how powerful a witch you are, none of you can create a spell without a loophole. There has to be a way to bring him down."

Esther shrugged. "Not a way you will be willing to take, I assure you."

"Oh, trust me, lady. There is nothing I'm not willing to do to end that bastard."

"I think there is. You will have to discover that for yourself, however. So nice to finally meet you, Damon." Esther gave him a little smile, and then glided away.

As Esther was leaving, Emily was arriving. They nodded at each other politely, as they passed.

"Does she come here often?" Emily asked Damon, once Esther was gone from their sight.

"Nope. First time. I've been meaning to ask you . . . I know that bitch corrupted Ric every time he died and came over here, but what about Jeremy Gilbert? He's died a few times as well. Has Esther ever gotten to him?"

"Oh, no," Emily responded, as they both sat down on the grass. "I mark the Gilberts when they fall. They belong to me. They always have."

"Ah, you did have a thing for Jonathan Gilbert. I really can't see why - but you must have, to have created eternity rings for him and his nephew."

"I keep watch over Jeremy when he visits here. He only sleeps until he can return. You need not have any fears for him."

"Good to know. Well, you are here and I am here, and I have to say . . . I'm sick to death of waiting."

"Look at you, Damon. Making a pun." Emily smiled at him. "The witches have conferred. We are prepared to do our part in sending you back. However, certain compromises have been agreed to."

"Oh, yeah? What? Are you sending me back as a little green man or something?"

"No, you will be yourself, more or less. We will make you stronger and tougher, of course, but you will be your vampire self. We have three witches aligned on the earthly side, who can build your body out of the elements. You will feel very much as you always have. However, it will be a body made of illusions. Strong, yes. And you will have vampire senses. But you will not hunger, nor will you need blood or any sustenance. You will obviously not be able to use your blood to heal or to make new vampires. You will not have real blood at all, so that should be obvious."

"What about-" Damon cleared his throat. "Can I be with Elena?"

Emily gave him a pitying look. "You will not have time for that, Damon."

"Oh, believe me - I will make the time."

Emily sighed. "Yes, I suppose that technically, you will be functioning in that way."

"Awesome."

"But as I said, you are not likely to have the time for dalliance. On this occasion, we are only sending you back for twenty four hours."

"How can I possibly find Ric, and kill him in only a day?"

"You can't. That is not your first assignment."

"What? Why not?"

"When Klaus made his first hybrid, the witches here swore a vow. Hybrids are an abomination, beyond that of any other earthly monster. At the very first opportunity, the witches promised that hybrids would be eliminated. The witch alliance that I have been telling you about is going to hold you and me to that vow."

"Honey, I have been killing hybrids left and right. I've totally been doing my part."

"Yes, but Klaus still has four hybrids remaining. Your first assignment is to hunt and kill those four. Then, the witches will agree to send you back for the longer assignment of defeating Alaric Saltzman."

"You want me to kill hybrids? Hell, that's not an assignment, that's a party. I'd do that for free."

"The names of the hybrids are -"

"Telling me their names isn't going to make it harder for me to kill them. In case you are wondering."

"Jason Bacheldor, Sarah Ursher, Tyler Lockwood, Marissa Coykendall."

"Ay, there's the rub." Damon paused, and then said. "Is this supposed to be some kind of test? You think I'll balk at killing Tyler Lockwood? The guy almost killed _me_ not so very long ago. Werewolves of any kind in general are a menace to vampires. I have no tolerance for them. I would have killed off Tyler last year, if I hadn't wanted to avoid listening to Caroline whine about it."

"That is your assignment. Rid the world of Klaus's hybrids, and we will will send you back again."

"Is that even possible to do in twenty four hours?"

"All four hybrids are in Mystic Falls. Klaus never gave them permission to leave."

"That should make it easier."

"I have a spell that can send your ghost self there. Find the hybrids so that you can locate them more quickly once your mission begins. Then you need go to the location where your friends will be attempting the reconstruction spell this evening. You will need to be on hand so you can join your spirit to your new body. I will be there, to assist Lucy, Bonnie and Grace Thomas."

"Okay, witch," Damon rubbed his hands together. "Let's get to it. I've got me some hearts to rip out."

* * *

Finding the hybrids did turn out to be easy. Jason, Sarah and Marissa were all at Klaus' mansion, overseeing a moving crew packing up Klaus's artwork and antiques. They were under orders to close up the house for good. Knowing that Klaus was not planning on coming back made Damon very happy, but he did have to wonder what Klaus's plans for Elena were. He was not likely to leave her behind forever.

Tyler was even easier to find. He was having dinner with Caroline at the Grill. Damon sat down beside them and listened to them talk. Or more accurately, Damon listened while Caroline chattered at Tyler. She told Tyler that the witches were going to try and bring Damon back that night, and how disappointed Elena was when they realized that Damon's death spot was in the middle of a new housing development. Rather than try and raise Damon from the dead in someone's suburban backyard, they were going to make the attempt at the house where Bonnie usually went to contact the dead witch spirits.

Damon grimaced. He hated that damn house. But they had raised the dead there twice before, so it seemed appropriate. Damon also learned that it had only been a day since Lucy and her friends had come to town. All those endless days on the Other Side, had only equalled one day here in Mystic Falls. It was difficult to wrap his head around.

Tyler asked Caroline if they would have time for a little nookie in the werewolf cellar before the night's main event. Caroline shrugged, and said they had all the time in the world, since she wasn't planning on being there for Damon's homecoming. The witches didn't want too many people around because it was such a tricky spell.

"You guys get all the nookie you can, while you can," Damon told them. He felt a pang when he looked at Caroline and Tyler. They were just so damn happy to be together. But a soldier has his orders.

After locating his hybrid targets, Damon thought himself to the Gilbert house, and was there. It was empty, though. So he focused his thoughts on Elena only.

And he flickered into the Salvatore boarding house. Elena was back inside his closet, but it wasn't dark, and she wasn't crying. She was humming just a little bit, as she went through his clothes. It looked like she was assembling an outfit, which gave Damon some pause. Oh right. The witches were going to create a body for him. Emily hadn't said anything about also creating clothes for said body. He was likely to come back naked.

Damon looked at Elena in admiration. "I love you. You are smart, capable, and prepared. And you don't want me showing off the goodies to a bunch of impressionable young witches. Not that shirt though, I don't even know why I bought that one. Makes me look like I'm going to a rodeo. As the clown." He was relieved when she put that shirt back.

He could hear Stefan downstairs, so he left her to her sartorial decision making, and flickered down to his brother.

Stefan was in the study, on the phone. Damon was more than a little bit surprised to hear Katherine on the other end of the line.

"I appreciate you giving it some thought, Katherine."

"I know, I'm just sorry I can't be more precise. Everything was happening pretty quickly that night. It had to have been past ten, because we didn't come home from the ball until then."

"But I don't think it was after midnight already."

"No, it wasn't that late. So it was probably between 10:30 and midnight, when your father shot you and Damon."

"I think you are right. Luckily, Lucy Bennett says we have a three hour window to do the spell properly."

"What happens if it isn't done properly? He comes back with an arm sticking out of his forehead?" Katherine gave a little laugh. "What an odd conversation. Honestly, you'd think Emily would remember the time even better than we would. She wasn't as caught up in events. I was half out of my head with vervain at the time."

"And Damon and I were half out of our heads with fear. And love."

"Oh, you were both so desperate in your love for me." Katherine sighed. "Whatever happened to my sweet boys?"

Stefan was quiet for a second. "You know what happened, Katherine. We became monsters."

"Oh, please, Stefan. Are we not over that yet? All that stupid self loathing. Doesn't do anyone any good whatsoever. And if the witches thought you were such terrible monsters, why would they waste so much energy in sending your brother back to you?"

"Takes a monster to bring down a monster. It has nothing to do with morality."

"And you? How have you been doing since we spoke a couple of days ago? Do the Gilbert children know about your extra curricular activities?"

"No," Stefan said, shortly.

Oh, Stef, Damon thought to himself, what have we been up to?

"No? Must not be like your last foray into ripperdom, then. You were much less subtle then."

"It's not like that. I told you. Damon was helping me to find a kind of moderation. Things were going well before he died."

"But they aren't going so well now, are they?"

"I've made a couple of mistakes," Stefan said. "It's not going to happen again."

"Of course not. In which case, I don't understand the reluctance in your voice when you talk about bringing Damon back, Stefan. It sounds like you need him there to help you."

"I let him go."

"Really? It doesn't seem like you have."

"Not this time. I'm talking about a long time ago."

"A couple of years back, when the two of you were tormenting each other, and you decided that he needed to be put down?"

"No, way back when we were still human. Do you remember Cora and her sons, Daniel and Michael?"

"I remember Cora, of course . . . your Irish housekeeper. Big with freckles and lots of mousy brown hair. She disapproved of me and my wanton ways, even though she was doing more than just keeping house for your father, if I recall."

"Yes. She was my father's mistress for many years. Daniel and Michael were my half-brothers. In early 1863, about a month after Damon signed on to join the Confederate Army, Cora was carrying something into the dining room during dinner. I don't remember what it was. A crow flew in through the open window and landed on Damon's empty chair. Cora threw whatever she was carrying at it, huge mess, lots of screaming, my father was furious. Afterwards, Cora told me it was an omen for a death in the family. She told me my brother was dead, that Damon was dead on a battlefield somewhere, and that the bird was trying to tell us that. I believed her completely. It was like a part of me knew he was going to die at war, as soon as he signed up and left us. So when Cora said that . . . I accepted it. I went out to the pond where we used to go swimming. I climbed up the oak tree beside the pond, the one we always climbed together, and I said good bye to my brother."

"But he wasn't dead."

"No. He showed up three weeks later when the regiment was moving through town looking to raise more recruits. He walked into the house, and Cora fainted dead away. I almost did so myself. My brother was dead. I had spent three weeks mourning him. I let him go. And there he was, not even a ghost. I never really looked at Damon the same way again. I can't explain it, and I know it sounds crazy. But the part of me that let him go never actually believed he was back. For over a hundred years."

"It does sound crazy, Stefan. But not as crazy as your Irish housekeeper, and her stupid omens. She never should have scared you like that."

"That is up for debate. That swimming pond I mentioned? Daniel drowned there the day after Damon went back to his regiment. He was only five years old. I did lose a brother - Cora and her omens were not so wrong."

"I think I do remember Michael, actually. She called him Mickey."

"Oh, yes. Of course, Daniel was already dead before you came to stay with us. You would have known Mickey, though. He used to hide in your closet and try and catch you getting dressed."

"He was a scamp. I remember compelling him to play pranks on your father, but he didn't need much persuading."

"After my father died, Cora took the name Mrs. Salvatore, and insisted everyone call her son Michael Salvatore. No more 'Mickey' for him. There wasn't anyone to protest, and honestly, she deserved it. She was my father's lover for longer than he was married to my mother, after all."

"I miss you as a human, Stefan. What you are saying to me about letting your brother go over a hundred years ago, makes no sense to me now. But your story did make me long to meet you again as you were back then. To fall in love with my human Stefan all over again."

"Katherine, don't," Stefan said.

"Fine. Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure that your story makes sense to me in light of what is happening now. It was just a mistake. This is not."

"It has nothing to do with making sense. I just wanted to tell you. Felt like I needed to tell someone about the first time my brother died."

"Why do you tell me these things, and not Elena? You have been calling me now for over a week, with memories of your brother, and you don't even mention her."

Stefan paused, and then said, "I can't talk to Elena any more. When she chose my brother instead of me, it was as though she closed herself off to me entirely. She barely hears me, hardly ever looks at me. I faded away into insignificance as soon as she decided to love Damon. As though the past two years we spent loving each other, trying to find our way back to each other, meant nothing to her anymore. All she thinks about is him. His death made that even worse for her. She's frozen in that moment of discovering her love for him. She'll never move past it if she doesn't let him go."

"She's a child, Stefan. You can't expect much from her. Honestly, I think you are the one who needs to let go. You need to let go of her."

"I can't, Katherine. I can't." Stefan took a deep breath. "I still see the two of us together in the future. I can feel what it would be like to hold her again exactly as I used to, nobody coming between us. It was her love for me that helped to save me from everything Klaus turned me into. You think I can just let that go?"

"I can't tell you how to live your life, Stefan. But yes, you should."

Damon couldn't listen anymore. He drifted back up the stairs, to check on Elena. He hoped she hadn't heard Stefan on the phone.

She hadn't. She had found an old wooden box in Damon's closet, and she was pulling it out.

"Oh, fuck," Damon said to her. "You don't want to open that. Seriously. Let's just put the box back, Elena. Pretend we never saw it."

But no. She was Pandora, and this was now her box.


	10. Chapter 10

Elena carried the box carefully over to Damon's bed, and set it down. It was a large box, made of amber hued wood, with a hinged top and the carving of two doves on the lid. Below the doves were the initials 'T.M.M.' It was very old, and had belonged to Damon's mother. Her name had been Teresa Maria Maestri. Elena traced the initials with her finger, before finding the brass latch on the front.

Damon winced. Elena was going to open it. She was going to open it, and the secret he had been keeping from Stefan for over 160 years was going to be revealed.

Elena did open the box. Damon sighed, and sat down beside her on the bed. "Awesome," he said to her. "You know, this is the first time since I've been dead, that I have remembered that you can be annoying sometimes."

There were papers and smaller boxes inside. Elena picked up an envelope on top, marked "Last Will and Testament of Damon Salvatore".

"Okay, if you just open that one, and ignore everything else, we'll be fine," Damon said.

"What did you find there?' Stefan asked, from the doorway.

"This," Elena said, indicating the box. "And this." She held the envelope out to him.

He took the envelope from her, and turned it around in his hands. "I haven't seen this will before, but I know what is in the rest of the box."

"The fuck you do," Damon said, in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yes. Some of my mother's old jewelry. Just a few pieces. And letters from her lover back in Italy. I think there's a an old daguerreotype of him in there."

"Her lover?" Elena shifted through the papers until she found a packet of very old letters, tied with a faded violet ribbon.

"Yes. I don't know anything about him other than the name on the picture and the letters. My mother died when I was born, as you know, so I never knew her at all. Father threw all of her things out of the house, so Damon must have salvaged this without Father knowing. I found it in Damon's room after he left to join the army. I don't think he ever found out that I'd gone through it."

"I didn't think your Italian was good enough for it to matter very much, to be honest," Damon said.

"Your father threw all of her stuff out? Why?"

"They didn't have a very good marriage."

Damon snorted. "Major understatement, Stef."

Elena reached the bottom of the box, where the old daguerreotype was, and pulled it out. "Oh, my." She held it up. "You guys never even talked about this?"

"Pretty obvious when you look at the picture, isn't it?" Damon said. "Yep, I'm a bastard. Not even a Salvatore at all."

"No, we never did. It didn't matter to me, Damon was my brother, regardless. But it did help me understand why my father had a hard time even looking at Damon. Why he favored me, even though I wasn't the eldest. And why I was named after my father's father, and Damon was named after my mother's father. Traditionally in our family, it should have been the other way around."

"I didn't want you to know, Stefan. Didn't want you to know I was only as much of a brother to you as Danny or Mickey. Don't know why I thought it would make a difference. I didn't want you to know that about our mother, either. That kind of thing mattered back then. Doesn't now, I know. But back then, I was afraid you would think of her differently if you knew. And since I was the only one who ever talked to you about her, I thought it was important that you only think of her as a saint. That was silly. She was a real person with real dreams who made real mistakes. I hid that from you, and I'm sorry for that," Damon said to his brother. "Damnit. Why can I only tell you these things when you can't hear me?"

"So you think your father knew?" Elena asked. She opened a small box, and pulled out a garnet and seed pearl ring, turned it this way and that way, and then put it back inside it's cushioned case.

"That's yours, of course," Damon said to her. "All of it is yours. You'd know that if you read the will."

"He must have. It would explain why they left Italy and came here, too. They were both from very wealthy families, there would have been no reason for them to leave. But they arrived here just a couple of months before Damon was born. I suppose they didn't want their families back home to do the math."

Elena picked up the picture again, and gently touched the face of the man portrayed. "Amazing. So much alike. I know exactly the color of this man's eyes even though the picture is just shades of gray." She turned the picture over. "Francis Graziano. I wonder if she loved you very much. I'll bet she did. What do the letters say?"

"My Italian is only so-so, I'm afraid. I wish it was better, but I never had the ear for languages that Damon did. He would have been able to read those even as a kid. My mother spoke Italian to him every day, and she's the one who taught him to read and write. He told me that she never really learned to speak English well. But my father wouldn't allow us to speak Italian at home after she died, so I didn't pick it up."

"So you don't even know what they say?"

Stefan shook his head.

"They speak of a love undying," Damon answered for him. "They speak of a love so vast and so wide that death could not touch it. They were going to run away together, they had made plans. But Francis died falling from his horse a couple of days before they were supposed to leave for France. My mother, already pregnant with me, had to find a sucker to marry her before she began to show. Giuseppe was that sucker. He never forgave her, never forgave me. My mother continued to write letters to Francis even after he was dead. Those are in the box, too. When she was gone, and I was alone in a house with a father who hated me, and a baby brother who wouldn't stop crying, it was those letters that taught me how to love. Those letters showed me what love should look like, how it should feel, what it is worth. Why you should fight for it."

Elena put the letters and the daguerreotype back into the box. She held out her hand. "I'll put his will back in there, too."

Stefan started to hand it to her, and then pulled it back. "You don't think we should open it?"

Elena stared at him, and then shook her head. "Why would we? Damon's not dead, not really. It would be weird to read his will, and then see him again tonight."

"It's okay," Damon said. "A little morbid, but I don't mind. I'd like to see you wear my mother's jewelry, actually. Her hands were like yours, very much so. I'm sure her rings would fit you."

Stefan sat beside her, still holding the envelope in his hand. "He is dead, Elena. Whether he comes back briefly tonight or not, he _is_ dead. Nothing that happens tonight is going to change that."

"You don't know that," Elena said, impatiently. "You can't know that." She shook her head again, and then asked, "Why are you already giving up on him, on this?"

"Yeah, Stef? Why?" Damon asked his brother.

"You've been walking around for the past twenty four hours in some kind of cloud, Elena. Like . . . like a miracle has happened."

"And it has. Why don't you see that?"

"I can't see you go through all of that again. Even Lucy says that no one has ever tried to do what they are attempting. There are no guarantees offered, no promises made. I'm worried for you. Worried that you are going to be crushed by this. That we will have to start all over with letting Damon go."

Elena took the will from his hand, put it in the box and closed the lid. "You are wrong, Stefan. There have been promises made. Damon promised me." She stood up, and lifted the box carefully. "I don't care if I'm the only one standing there tonight with faith in him. It doesn't matter. He's coming back to me, that's what is important. He's coming back to _you, _too."

Stefan stood, as well, running a hand through his hair. He took a deep breath. "This wasn't how any of this was supposed to be. You were supposed to be my girlfriend, not my brother's widow. You have erased all of our past, Elena, yours and mine."

Elena carried the box into the closet. She closed the door, and then turned to face Stefan. "I haven't. Honestly, I haven't. And I'm sorry if I have made you feel alone in all of this. But the way I feel about Damon? You need to make your peace with it, Stefan. I choose him."

"I know, Elena. You've made it clear."

"Well, that can't be true, because you are not hearing me. I _choose_ Damon. You keep wanting me to put that in past tense, but it's not. It's not past for me. I choose him every day, death or not. Whether he is here where I can see him, touch him, be with him or not. Because even if he is on the Other Side, he still exists. There is still a place where he is. And as long as that is true, then I will _keep on choosing him_. Every day a conscious act. The same decision every second. There is no letting go, not for me." She looked at Stefan, and Damon could swear there was a glint of steel in her eyes. "So get right with that, Stefan, or get gone. You understand?"

Stefan nodded, his face set and grim. "You leave me little choice, Elena. But then, you always do."

* * *

It was a tense car ride.

Damon sat behind Elena and Stefan on the way to the house of the witch spirits, and told them old jokes and riddles, just to fill the empty spaces. His absolute most favorite people on this or any other realm, and it was killing him that they couldn't just be joyful together. They were all about to be reunited. Why did it need to be so grim?

Despite the gloomy atmosphere in the car, Damon felt his own excitement begin to rise. In a couple of hours, he would be able to hold Elena again. He could say all of the things he wanted to say without having smart ass teenagers translate for him. He'd be able to hug his brother. He'd be able to kick his brother's ass from here to Timbuktu for being a conflicted dick to Elena. After everything, after the burning, the fear, the despair, the knives . . . he was coming home.

When they were almost to the house, Damon received a visitor on the seat next to him.

"Hello. Can you tell that one again? The one about the man with a duck on his head?" Tatia giggled. "That was funny."

"Hey there, sweetheart. Just along for the ride?"

"This is an important day for Elena. I try to watch her when things happen that have importance. She is happy, and she is sad at the same time."

"Ah, yes . . . but she's not crying anymore, see? So no need to draw any of your charming grief analogies. She knows I'm coming home."

"Yes. It is beautiful, is it not? To think of coming home? This was once my home, too. I do not remember it like this, of course. But it was my home and it was beautiful. Katherine is coming home, as well, you know."

"She is?"

"Yes. For him," Tatia said, indicating Stefan in front of her. "She was very sad when he told her that you were dead. She cried for you, but she cried even more for him. Because he had lost you."

"Well, what do you know. Our Katherine is a big old softy after all. The Queen of Mean has a weakness."

"She loves him very much, but he never believes her."

"Well, maybe he will someday. Hell, maybe that will solve this eternal triangle that we have going on. To every Salvatore, their own Petrova doppelganger. And they all lived happily ever after."

Tatia just looked at him. "You think you will live happily, or any other way?"

"I know I will."

"I hope you do. I will make wishes for you, wishes that you will be happy, that you will live."

Damon wrapped an arm around Tatia, and then leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek, making her giggle again. "I wish the same for you, pretty girl."

* * *

Keeping his arm looped around Tatia's shoulder, Damon followed Stefan and Elena over to the group gathered outside of the witches' house. There was a large circle inscribed in the dirt, and about a hundred candles surrounding it. Jeremy and Leslie were still setting up more candles up for Lucy and Bonnie to set alight with their minds. There were also tiki torches in a pile, waiting for someone to put them together. Grace was sitting in the doorway, studying a notebook with a flashlight. She looked up as they came close, and gave them a wave.

"Hey, who did you bring with you?" Grace asked, pointing at Tatia.

Elena and Stefan both swiveled around.

"What? Where?" Elena asked.

"Walking with Damon. She looks exactly like you, only kind of olden times like a Ren Faire person."

"Damon's here?'

"I've been with you guys the whole way. I was there at the boarding house when you were intent on being miserable to each other. And this," Damon said, pulling Tatia closer, "is Tatia. She's my backup girlfriend just in case you and I don't work out, Elena. Everyone needs a spare Petrova doppelganger."

Tatia laughed, but then said, "I am not a doppelganger. I am the original."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot."

Grace gave Damon a grin. "Damon came with you guys, he's been hanging out with you for awhile. You are in a super good mood, Damon."

"Hell yeah, I am."

Stefan said, quietly, "So Damon has been watching us today."

"Yep, and he brought Tatia with him."

Jeremy looked up. "Who is Tatia?"

"The first girl to ever have vampire brothers fight over her," Damon told him. "Your sister is but a carbon copy of this lady here."

Elena looked at her brother, dumbfounded. "I don't understand. Why did he bring Tatia?"

"Just for the show. This is kind of a big deal in Other Side circles, you know," Damon answered.

Grace shook her head. "He says she just came to watch. This is confusing. Everyone needs to just be quiet for a little while, because I'm trying to read the notes I took when Emily was dictating the spell to me. And when I say everyone, I mean you, too, Damon."

Damon made a zipping motion with his fingers and lips. He and Tatia sat down beside Grace, and Damon tried to peek at the spell notes. Grace glared at him.

"What?"

"Kind of distracting. Why don't you, and your ladyfriend, go over there."

"Fine. C'mon, sweetheart." Damon and Tatia moved to underneath a tree on a slope where they could still see everything going on. When Elena asked, Jeremy pointed in their direction.

Elena came and joined them. She put down the duffel bag of clothes she was carrying, and sat down. Tatia moved over to make more room for Elena.

Elena said, "You probably heard me and Stefan at the boarding house. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to make him understand. I don't know if we just aren't hearing each other, or if we just can't get on the same page about you, but it's frustrating. He thinks you are dead, and I know that you are not. Because our story can't end that way, it just can't."

Stefan looked up, and glanced to where Elena was sitting.

"He can hear you, remember," Damon reminded her. "Of course, you can't hear me, so the advice is kind of moot."

Elena continued, "I am just going to sit here, and know that you are here, and know that we will be together soon."

The three of them sat in a very companionable silence. Damon was especially watching his brother. There was something definitely troubling Stefan. He was putting together the tiki torches and setting them around the circle, but he was clearly distracted. Jeremy, pouring water from a plastic jug into a large bowl spilled some on Stefan's shoes, but he did not even notice. Damon knew what this level of stress meant for his brother. Nothing good, that was for sure. Somebody was wanting blood, and they wanted it fresh and they wanted it human. Damon wondered if Elena had thought to throw a couple of blood bags into that duffel bag.

Lucy called over to Elena, "We're ready. It's time. You need to come, and stand in the circle."

Elena and her ghost companions all rose and walked down the slope to the circle. Tatia remained outside, while Damon and Elena went into the middle.

"I am sending you many wishes for your joy, for your happiness," Tatia called out. "I send them to you as the rose sends her petals into the wind."

"Thanks, that's awesome," Damon responded. He saw Emily striding towards them, and he gave her a little salute. Emily nodded, and then moved to stand right behind Grace. Grace stood on the edge, holding the pendant in one hand, and the notebook in the other. Lucy and Bonnie flanked her.

Grace turned around and acknowledged Emily with a bright and cheery, "Hi!", and then she turned back to her book.

Stefan joined Elena in the middle of the circle. Lucy brought them a cup and a knife. "Only hurt for a little bit," she said. Lucy made a small cut on Stefan's hand and squeezed out some of his blood into the cup before the cut healed. She did the same to Elena. Stefan's nostrils flared and his lips went white when the cut was made on Elena's hand.

"Hang in there, brother," Damon said to him, "Please."

Elena pulled her chain from underneath her shirt, and removed Damon's daylight ring from it. She dropped the ring into the blood in the bottom of the cup. Then she placed the cup on the ground between herself and Stefan. "Like this?" she asked Grace, who nodded.

Elena and Stefan linked hands. "Ouch," Elena said, "Not so tight." She gave Stefan a small smile, but he didn't return it. He was trying very hard not to breathe.

"Easy there, Stef," Damon said. "Easy. No eating my girlfriend. You said you wouldn't, remember?"

"Here we go, guys," Grace took a deep breath, and then said, "Wait - can I just say how absolutely cool this is? I mean this is super super cool for me. My first like, real spell, and this is my first grimoire," she held up her Hello Kitty notebook, "I only wish Mrs. Lee was here to see me."

Damon groaned. "Baby witch, get on with it."

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Grumpy. Just having a moment here." She took a deep breath again, and then said, "Thes mattos statis domine luctis nocte mort vite caenum. Domine luctis nocte mort." She held the notebook out so Bonnie and Lucy could read it. They began to chant along with her.

The candles and torches flickered. Damon started to feel a tingling along his spine. "Something is happening, witch," he called out.

"Be ready, Damon," Emily said to him, underneath the chanting. "My witches here are pushing from this side. You need to transition into your new body as soon as it appears. You will have to push your way inside of it. It might be difficult."

"Oh, I'm ready, Emily Bennett. Although what you just said was kind of kinky, if you don't mind me saying."

Grace stumbled over the words, and so did Lucy and Bonnie. They started over, and then stumbled again. The torches flickered once more. Damon couldn't feel the tingling anymore.

"Emily!" Damon called out, "What is happening? I thought the necklace would keep Esther from blocking us."

Emily shook her head. "It's not Esther. We are too strong, and she cannot stop this. There is something else wrong."

Emily walked into the middle of the circle, and she laid her hands on Elena's head, her eyes closed. "This anchor is working perfectly. All she desires is your return."

She moved to Stefan, and laid her hands on his head as well. "He is resisting."

Grace stopped chanting, and held up a hand to stop the others. "I'm sorry, but Stefan? Could you . . . um . . . could you, like, actually want this to work, maybe? Emily says you are the problem. You need to try harder."

Stefan, stricken, looked at Elena, and then back at the three witches. "I don't understand."

"Well, obviously part of you doesn't want your brother to come back, and hey, I have a younger sister, so I totally get it. But it's sort of screwing things up on this side."

Stefan shook his head. He took a deep breath. "It's not that. I want this to work."

Grace shrugged. "Okay, trying again." She began the chant again, and so did the Bennett cousins.

Emily stayed in the circle, watching Stefan closely.

"Poor Stefan. Always at war with himself," Emily said to Damon. "I'm afraid I will have to resolve his inner battle for him. I believe I can ease the bloodlust long enough."

Emily laid her hands on Stefan's head, and she began a chant of her own. Stefan relaxed into the the touch of her hands, even though he could not actually feel them. Damon watched, fascinated, as a glow of light went from Emily's hands into his brother's head.

The tingling began again up and down Damon's spine. The chanting grew louder, and there was a wind that started to whip around the ones inside the circle.

A column of dirt and dust swirled next to Damon, in between him and Elena. The column swirled higher and higher until it was level with Damon's head. The dust began to take shape. Damon's shape.

Damon wasn't sure when he was supposed to make his move. He looked over at Emily, who shook her head slightly. Okay, he could wait. He looked at Elena, who had her eyes closed tight, wishing for his return with every fiber of her being, her lips actually mouthing the chant along with the witches. And at his brother, who had tears in his eyes, and who was looking up at the sky as though he expected Damon to fall from it like an angel who had been disgraced.

And as the dust cloud became more and more Damon-shaped, Damon suddenly wished the duffel bag holding his change of clothes was a bit closer. Because yep, he was definitely coming back naked.

When the body of dust had finally become a body that was actually a body, Damon closed his eyes and tried to force his way in. It was sticky. And it was heavy. He had not realized just how light and free his ghost self had been. He had become accustomed to a certain element of weightlessness, and now there was nothing but weight.

Once he had eased himself inside the body the witches had made for him, he collapsed under it's solidity to the dirt ground.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Damon wheezed out of lungs and a throat that definitely did not work properly.

Damon didn't think he could stand. Everything was just so heavy. His limbs were like concrete.

He felt arms underneath him, and he managed to raise his head enough to see that his brother was supporting his weight and lifting him from the ground. "Thanks," Damon croaked.

Stefan nodded, tears forming and running down his face. "You were dead."

"I know, brother," Damon said, a little bit more clearly now. "I was. I am. You were wrong, but you weren't."

Elena wrapped her arms around both of them. "You're home," she sobbed, "you're here."

"I am," Damon said, finally able to lift an arm to circle her as well. He held her close, as his brother held him. "I am."

* * *

AN: Fully aware that I'm taking some liberties in regards to Damon's mother having a daguerreotype of her lover in what must have been the late 1830s, or very early 1840s (depending, of course, on how old you want to think Damon is). The daguerreotype was launched officially in 1839, so yeah . . . the odds are not good that two young lovers in Italy, no matter how wealthy, would have been able to exchange them at the time that Teresa Maria would have been planning on running off with Francis Graziano. But let's just pretend, okay?


	11. Chapter 11

Cleaned up, dressed, and having kissed his girl a few dozen times (and having also kissed all of the other girls just to show his appreciation), Damon convened a council of war around the Gilbert kitchen table.

"Not enough room in here, really," Damon remarked. "But I suppose this is still a safer place to be than the boarding house." He was holding hands with Elena, who couldn't stop touching him and reassuring herself that he was real. He felt the same way. She had a bandage on one of her hands just like the last time he had been with her in the flesh, so it was almost like the past two weeks had never happened. Like he had never left her at all.

Emily had flickered back to the Other Side to confer again with her witch alliance. She was to return to the Gilbert house with news of Alaric Saltzman's location. Tatia had remained with Damon, though, and was now perched on a bar stool, staring at Jeremy in fascination.

"Such a pretty boy," Tatia crooned, as she reached over, and tried to touch his hair.

Jeremy swatted at her hand, but of course could not make contact. He looked at Damon with wide eyes. "Can you make her stop?"

"Oh, suck it up. She likes you. And it's a treat for her to be around people who can actually see her."

Grace interjected, "I think she's rather sweet."

"Yeah, but she looks exactly like my sister, so that makes this really creepy."

"Suck . . . It . . . Up," Damon repeated. "Okay, so here's the deal - I can't tell you any of the details of my mission."

"What? Why not?" Bonnie asked.

"I can't. We have to leave it at that." Damon caught Grace's eye. "But you know, don't you? You're the girl that knows stuff."

For the first time since he had met her, Damon saw the smile slip from Grace's face. She answered, solemnly, "Yes. I know. Emily and I talked about it."

Damon was quiet for a second. "Well." He looked around at everyone else. The witches, the ghosts (he was counting himself), the vampires, the doppelganger, the human. "There's been a lot of death in this town. There is always a war going on here, it seems, and I don't think we have seen the last of the casualties. So before things get all crazy again, I just wanted to tell everyone here that I appreciate what you did tonight. I've had a great deal of time to think about what it means to be alive, and what it means to not be alive, in the time I have spent away from here. And I realized that I didn't say thank you enough when I had the chance. I didn't say that I was sorry enough." Damon made eye contact with his brother, while tightening his hold on Elena's non-injured hand. "So I am taking that chance now."

"I love you, too, Damon," Jeremy said, making a kissy face. Tatia giggled at him. She reached out to stroke his hair again, and he ducked his head.

"Oh, yeah, and I totally didn't kick your ass enough times, younger Gilbert. I owe you a couple of neck snaps for all the crap you put me through while dead." Damon paused, and then said, "Does anyone know where Caroline and Tyler are tonight?"

Elena shook her head, but Bonnie said, "They definitely went off together. Caroline was bitching earlier that both of their moms are on their cases lately, and they can't get any privacy."

Damon nodded. "Well, I'll just have to catch up with them later, then. Okay, that's it. Go away and get some rest. No more excitement tonight. Not for you guys. Plenty of excitement left in the evening for Elena and myself." He held up his phone. "Elena was kind enough to program everyone's number in here for me, so if I need witchy help I'll text you."

Lucy said, "I don't understand. You only have twenty four hours, correct? Shouldn't we making plans on how to bring Alaric Saltzman here? Don't we have a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time?"

Damon tried to think of an appropriate story to tell them, one that would shut them up and make them leave so he could slip off and terminate his targets. Before he had to answer, he was relieved to notice that Emily had arrived at the table.

"Hey, it's General Bennett, herself. What do you have for us, Emily? Shove over Stefan, you're crowding her."

"Elijah Mikaleson is dead."

"No," Damon said, shaking his head. "No, that can't be."

"What is she saying?" Elena asked, tugging on his hand.

Grace answered, "Some guy named Elijah is dead."

Elena brought her hand to her mouth. "No. God, no."

Tatia slid from her chair, and began to howl on the floor.

Stefan brought out his phone, and started dialing. "Calling Rebekah." He left the table, and went into the living room area.

The noise Tatia was making was deafening for Damon, Emily, Jeremy and Grace. All of them covered their ears. Damon, pointing at Tatia, said to Jeremy, loudly, "Make her go away."

"How?" Jeremy asked, in a shout.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well, how did you keep kicking me out? There's no off button for her, I've already checked. So unless you want nothing but howler monkey in your ears, do something."

Jeremy just shrugged, keeping his ears covered.

Damon went over to Tatia. "Hey there. Hey, pretty girl, it's okay. He's only dead, you know. Not a big deal."

Tatia stopped wailing. She looked up at him with a tear streaked face. "My love. I must go to find him," she said with a sob. And she flickered and was gone.

Damon stood up. "Thank God, that's that. Where did Ric catch up to him?" he asked Emily.

"Montreal. He had over ten thousand descendants. They all died an hour ago."

"Emily says Ric just killed Elijah in Canada about a couple of hours ago. So he's nowhere near here yet, if he's even coming this way." Damon told the others.

"He is coming this way, Damon," Emily responded. "Klaus was with Elijah, and just barely made his escape. The hunter is tracking Klaus, and Klaus is coming here." She inclined her head towards Elena. "For her."

"Then that thing you want me to do, we put that on hold, right, Emily? We focus on Klaus and on Ric now."

Emily shook her head. "I cannot alter the deal made with the witch council, Damon. For it to remain valid, you have to fulfill the conditions. If you want us to agree to send you back here on occasion, then you must honor the deal you made."

"Fuck." Damon slammed his hand on the table, making Elena jump. "Then we face genocide, Emily. How many descendants does Klaus have, including the ones in Mystic Falls?"

"Klaus was the most prolific of Esther's monster children. He has well over thirty thousand descendants. It was a bit of a hobby for him."

"My brother among them. Katherine, Caroline, Abby." Damon sighed. "Well, Emily, how much time do we have?"

"Klaus is trying to lose the vampire hunter. He will not come straight here. I do not know how long it will take them. Perhaps only until the morning, perhaps longer."

Stefan came back into the kitchen. "Rebekah didn't know. She knew about Kol, of course, but not Elijah. She wouldn't tell me where she was, but it sounded like it was somewhere very remote."

"Thank God," Lucy said, as she reached over for Leslie's hand. "Did you tell her to stay far from here?"

"Yes," Stefan responded. "She's devastated, and completely freaked out. I don't think she's going anywhere any time soon."

"There's no time, no time." Damon turned Elena, and put a hand on each of her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes. "I love you. I thought we would have more time. But this is how it is, and I'm sorry. Now I have to be a soldier, and I have to do things that I don't want you to see. Will you stay here for me? Can you do that?"

Elena shook her head. "Of course not."

"Damnit, Elena," Damon sighed.

* * *

His new body really was pretty incredible. With a quick, "Watch her. Keep her here, Stef. Keep them all here." Damon sped away into the night at warp speed.

He made it to the werewolf cellar on the Lockwood property amazingly fast.

Now that was cool, Damon thought to himself. I could have used this body any number of times in the past 160 odd years. He paused at the top of the steps. Damon could clearly hear Tyler and Caroline down there, talking about random things. Mostly random things having to do with prom and prom related miscellany.

Damon didn't need a weapon. All he had to do was go down there, reach into Tyler's chest and rip out his heart. That was all. And it would be one down, three to go.

Do it fast. He could do it crazy fast in this body. He could do it, and then be out of there so fast that he wouldn't even hear Caroline cry.

It was time. Time to add another knife to his night.

Damon sped into the cellar, and had his hand buried in Tyler's chest, and wrapped around Tyler's heart before Caroline had finished her sentence about how Melody Fell was majorly messing up prom planning with her ridiculous decor requests.

"Damon!" Caroline squeaked, holding a blanket up to her chin.

Damon was looking Tyler straight in the eyes, as he tightened his hold on Tyler's heart.

"Why?" Tyler croaked out, as he struggled for air. "Why?"

"Why?" Damon echoed. "Why, why, why."

Damon closed his eyes. He felt the weight of Tyler's heart in his hand, fet the pressure of Tyler's rib cage. So easy to end it. Too easy. "Good question. Excellent question." Damon looked away from Tyler, and at Caroline. At her face, so full of horror. So like the faces of his victims, the ones he saw when night came for him on the Other Side. The fear. The despair. And he knew. He knew this wasn't going to happen.

"Fuck this. Fuck this shit," Damon said, as he stopped squeezing. He relaxed his hold. Carefully, gently, he pulled his hand out, and watched as Tyler's wound healed.

"What is going on?" Caroline asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I don't know," Damon replied. He looked down at the blood coating his hand. "I don't know what I am doing." Damon sank down to his knees. "This can't be me."

Caroline's eyes were wide, as she held Tyler around the shoulders. "Did you come back evil?"

Damon laughed, a harsh sound. "No. That's the problem."

Tyler was looking down at his chest. "Dude. What the fuck."

"Exactly," Damon said. "Exactly. Now what, Emily?" He raised his eyes to the ceiling of the cellar. "Now what?"

Emily came down the steps slowly, her long skirts trailing in the dirt.

"You can't do it, can you? Now that you know what death really is, you can't send anyone else there."

"I was supposed to be the unteachable one, Emily. But I have come back changed. What the fuck happened to me?" Damon asked her, tears in his eyes.

Emily's tone was gentle. "Damon, the great killer. Do you know how many knives you face when the night comes for you?"

"Who is he talking to?" Caroline whispered to Tyler, who shrugged. "I am so confused."

"No. Hard to keep track when you are so busy having your guts spitted and split."

"Four more knives would have been nothing to you, in the larger picture. Four among several hundred."

"Have I really killed as many as that? Hundreds, in the multiples?"

"Yes, you have."

"But I am refusing to kill these four. For most of my existence, I killed casually, for pleasure, for kicks. There are just these four more in between me and what I want. Between me and being with my girl." Damon shook his head. "But I can't kill these four when it really matters. Hybrids, no less. What is going on with me? I don't _evolve._ I don't _grow_ and I don't _change. _That's why I am so damn charming_. _Have I developed morality? Did I become Stefan, for fuck's sake? Is this what you were trying to teach me on the Other Side?"

"It doesn't matter to me if you are a moral man or a wicked one. I am only concerned with your usefulness. If you cannot be the soldier we need, then you have ceased to be useful as far as the witches are concerned." She paused, and then asked him. "Did you fail only because you know this one? Perhaps the others will be easier."

Damon shook his head. "No. I failed because I couldn't answer his question. Why?"

"You could. It's just that the answer would have been a selfish one."

"Why kill him? Why kill them? I don't give a fuck that the witches think hybrids are an abomination. They have hopes and lives and people who love them just like anyone else. They have to go to fucking prom. I can't kill Caroline's boyfriend right before fucking prom." Damon laughed harshly again. "Monsters are people, too, Emily. We are. We so fucking are."

"Seriously, dude," Tyler said, looking around. "Who are you talking to? You are freaking us out."

Caroline whispered, "I think he's having a psychotic break. Being dead must have fried his circuits or something. Call Stefan."

"So you are not our soldier. We chose the wrong champion. I'm disappointed, Damon."

"Do you hear yourself, Emily? You are disappointed because I _won't_ kill people. How did it come to this? Did you ever stop to think that maybe _you're_ the bad guy here? You were willing to end Ric so your girl Lucy wouldn't have to say goodbye to her girlfriend. But you would take Tyler away from Caroline, and not lose a second's peace over it. So fuck you, Emily. I'm no longer your foot soldier. Not your errand boy." Damon stood up. "Yes, you still have your champion. But I'm doing it my way - and I still have over twenty hours left."

Damon turned to Caroline and Tyler. "Up. Get dressed." He pointed at Tyler. "I spared you, Lockwood. That means your life belongs to me, now."

"Um . . . what?"

"I need an army, and you just signed up. Welcome aboard, recruit."


	12. Chapter 12

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked, as they walked through the woods.

"Tyler and I are going to Klaus's house. You, however, were not invited," Damon said, impatiently. "Geez, you guys are slow."

"I am not stupid, Damon," Caroline said, indignantly.

"Yeah, she's not. She's way smart," Tyler added.

"No, I mean, you are _slow._ I didn't realize just how slow regular old vamps were. This was supposed to be faster than driving there. But nevermind."

When they finally arrived at Klaus's mansion, Damon was even more irritated to see Elena's car in the driveway, and she and his brother standing beside it.

"Wow, Stef. You do such an excellent job of keeping Elena at home where she is supposed to be," he said, when he and his companions reached them.

Elena grabbed Damon in a fierce hug. "Don't do that again - running off like that scared me." Still in the circle of his arms, she looked at Caroline and Tyler. "All this secrecy just over going to get Tyler and Caroline? I don't understand."

"It's not important. What _is_ important is why are you here?"

"I'm turning myself over to Klaus when he arrives," Elena said, with a determined tilt to her chin. "If I had just turned myself over to Ric at the high school, you would never have died. I won't be used by Ric as a pawn to maneuver Klaus into a position where he can be killed. And I won't let anyone else die to protect me. I'm making a pre-emptive move."

Damon just looked at her, incredulously. "I've never heard such a load of bullshit. Stef? An opinion?"

Stefan opened his mouth, and Damon cut him off. "Don't you dare say you are letting her make her own decisions. Because you know as well as I do, that her decisions generally suck."

Stefan shook his head. "No, I actually agree with you. I wasn't going to let her turn herself over. Grace told us this was where you were most likely to go next. I figured you could talk sense into her the best, since she doesn't listen to me anymore."

Damon sighed. "Elena, I love you for your stubborness. I value and respect your personhood, and I esteem you as a woman. Now go the fuck home."

"No."

"Right, that was the expected response." Damon looked at his watch. "Whatever, this is wasting time. You guys may as well come with us. Stef? There might be violence. Don't let her die."

"Are we here to steal something?" Tyler asked. "Like, is this a heist? Because I have to warn you, three of Klaus's hybrids are staying here to guard his stuff. We can't just sneak in. They have probably already heard us."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I came all the way back from the fucking dead to rob a house. Like I would want any of Klaus's tacky ass crap. No, I'm here for his hybrids."

Letting go of Elena, Damon walked over to a small tree on the lawn, and uprooted it from the soil. He tore the limbs and roots off and broke the tree into three long pieces. "That'll do. Wait-" He turned to Tyler. "I can stake hybrids with regular wood, right?"

Tyler shrugged. "Yeah. We're tough, though. You probably aren't strong enough to stake us, no offense. And it won't kill us, even if you could."

"But it'll hurt like a motherfuck, I assume."

"What are you planning here?" Stefan asked.

"Just watch, Stef. This is a recruiting strategy."

Caroline said, "Honestly, I just think he's gone cuckoo. Sorry, Elena, but he came back _weird_."

"Don't care," Elena said. "I can handle weird. Just as long as he came back at all."

Damon stopped stripping the bark off the tree pieces long enough to walk over and give Elena a quick kiss, cradling her face in his hands. "God, I love you, girl." He kissed her again, and then released her. "Busy day, busy day."

Damon returned to his broken tree, and finished pulling the bark off. He carried the wood up to the front door, piled it on the doorstep, and then rang the doorbell. A light went on, and the door opened almost immediately.

A large man stood there, with a puzzled expression on his face. "We've been watching you guys from the window. What the hell are you doing out here?" He nodded at Tyler. "Hey, man."

"Hey, Jason. What's up?"

"Not much. Just watching crazy fuckers tear up trees. What's up with you?'

Tyler shrugged. "I don't think you would believe me if I told you."

Damon held up a hand. "Wasting time. Okay, here's the deal . . . wait, where are the other two? I don't plan on repeating myself."

Jason leaned back, and called out, "Sarah! Marissa! Crazy tree tearing fucker wants to talk to us."

"Oh, yeah?" The taller of the two girls said. "Hey, handsome." she said, when she got a better look at Damon.

Damon smiled at her. "Cute pjs, girls. Hope I didn't wake you. Got a proposition for you all."

"I'm down with that. Love a good proposition," she responded, with a wink. Elena, standing beside Stefan and watching from several feet away, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Putting together an army. Need you three to join. Only going to ask you once."

"Um, what?"

"That was pretty much my reaction, Sarah," Tyler said.

Jason laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so. Marissa? Kill him."

"Why?" The shorter of the two girls asked. "He hasn't done anything."

"He ripped up one of Klaus's trees. That's good enough," Jason said, pointing at the wood piled beside Damon. "Klaus told us to protect his property, right?"

"True." Marissa shrugged. "Okay." As she moved towards Damon, he picked up a piece of wood, and shoved it through her chest. She staggered back, and sat down on the step with a thump. She stared down at her chest in amazement. "Ow."

Jason's mouth dropped open in shock. "How did you do that?" Jason asked.

"Stronger than I look. Wanna see it again?" Damon picked up the next piece, and pinned Jason to the step with it.

"And you?" He said to Sarah, but she held her hands up.

"Nope, I'm good."

Damon lowered the last piece. "Clearly, you are the smart one. Okay, so I am fully aware that you four are sired idiots." Tyler held up his hand. "Oh, yes, forgot. Four idiots, but only three of you are sired- and it's possible that Sarah isn't an idiot. So, I assume we need to get Klaus's permission before things go any further. I need one of you to call him. Like, now." He looked down at Jason and Marissa, as they writhed and groaned on the steps. "Yeah, probably not either of you."

Caroline interjected, "I can do that."

"What?" Damon swiveled his head to look at Caroline, who was standing beside Stefan and Elena.

"Well, we talk almost every night."

"What?" Now it was Tyler's turn to swivel his head towards Caroline.

"Not like that, silly. It's just been a very stressful time for Klaus, what with Kol being dead, and Ric being all huntery and stuff. He just needs someone to talk to sometimes, and nobody really understands him."

"Yeah, I don't like that. I especially don't like that you haven't told me this before," Tyler said.

"Children! Squabble on your own time. Caroline, make with the booty call already."

"Ew. It's not like that." Caroline walked up the steps to Damon, and then pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Klaus sounded more than a little bit stressed on the other line.

"Hey you. Is this a bad time?"

In a warmer tone, Damon heard Klaus say, "Caroline, I'm glad you called. I was just thinking about you."

"Oh, you sound down. What's wrong?"

Damon made hurry up motions with his hands, but Caroline ignored him.

"Your former history teacher killed Elijah, that's what is wrong. And now he is tailing me."

"Oh, no." Caroline looked up at Damon, in surprise. "Elijah is dead? That sucks. I am so sorry, Klaus."

"What? Seriously, with the sympathy and everything? For _Klaus?_" Damon looked at his brother, and they made 'what the fuck' faces at each other. "When did this happen?"

"Who is there with you?" Klaus asked, his tone sharp.

"Oh, it's just Damon, being stupid."

"What?"

Damon took the phone from her hand. "Hey, Klaus. Speaking to you from beyond the grave, kind of. Boo."

"What?"

"For one glorious day of triumph, I get to be a little less dead. Long story. Lots of witchy stuff. Anyways, hoping for a little cooperation from you."

"Damon? Dead or not, I'd like you to fuck off."

"Awesome. So I guess I'll just do what I came for then, and finish off your last four hybrids. Say goodbye to your weird, mutant family, Klaus."

"Wait! What is this about?"

"Those witches? They sent me back here to kill all of your hybrids. I kill hybrids for them, and they figure out a timeshare deal so I can come back from the dead and visit my girl sometimes." Damon looked over at Elena, whose eyes had grown large. She looked at Tyler and then at Caroline. "But you know what I say? Fuck witches. Fuck them all. I say we have bigger problems to deal with, namely the fact that you, my friend, are leading Ricky The Vampire Slayer straight back to this town. So let's work together and send his evil ass to your mother where he belongs."

There was silence, and then Klaus asked, "Considering your lousy track record in this area, why would I want to work with you?"

"Do you have a lot of options? I believe you have lost a couple of brothers recently. You wanna risk your sister as well?"

"You do realize that I am returning for my doppelganger? I believe that puts us at odds."

"Look, I can only deal with one evil bastard at a time, and you, surprisingly enough, are not the evil bastard on the menu right now. You in?"

"Assuming that I was amenable to a cooperative endeavor, what would you want me to do?"

"Stop trying to lose Ric. Lead him to a place of our choosing. We'll ambush him and render him into beef jerky like your dear old dad once was. Then we can sit down like gents and discuss your unholy fixation on our favorite doppelganger. Oh, and I also need you to lend me your hybrids to assist with the aforementioned ambush. I spared them - so their lives are forfeited to me, anyway."

More silence. "Let me speak to Caroline."

"Whatever." Damon handed the phone back to her. "Here's your boyfriend. Sorry, your other boyfriend."

"Yes?" Caroline said.

"Is this a legitimate offer, Caroline? I'm trusting you to tell me the truth. Is this a trap for me?"

"No, don't think so. Damon really did come back to kill your hybrids. He had his hand wrapped around Tyler's heart, and then changed his mind. So I think this is totes legit."

"Fine. Let me speak to Jason."

Caroline looked at Jason, who was struggling to pull the giant log from his chest. "Um, Jason is kind of busy. Just a sec. I'll hand you to Sarah."

Sarah took the phone from Caroline. "Yes, Klaus? I understand, Klaus."

Damon reached down and pulled the wood from Jason's chest, and then did the same for Marissa. He tossed the blood stained wood down the stairs, and helped to pull the two hybrids to their feet.

"That was seriously painful, man," Jason complained, looking down at his wound as it healed.

"Oh, honey," Damon responded. "It could have been so much worse. Trust me on that."

Marissa groaned, also looking down at her chest, "This was my favorite tank top."

"You'll get over it," Damon said to her. "But yeah, it was pretty cute."

Jason took the phone from Sarah. "Yes, Klaus, I understand." He handed it to Marissa, who repeated the same words. She handed the phone back to Damon.

"So we're good?" Damon asked.

"They are yours to command. I suppose you already have Tyler in line."

"Oh, pouty are we, about TyTy breaking the sire bond? I didn't even know you knew."

"I let it slip," Caroline said. "Whoops."

"Where do you want to me to bring our friend and his special stake?"

Damon paused. "Let me give that some thought. How far away are you from Mystic Falls?"

"If I stop trying to lose him, then about ten hours."

"Fanfuckingtastic. I'll call you long before then." Damon ended the call. He turned to his hybrid army. "Rest up, troops. You are most likely to die in the morning."

"Wait, really?" Tyler asked him.

Damon shrugged. "I have no fucking clue. Just go away. Grown ups need to talk."

Tyler shrugged, and then grabbed Caroline's hand. "And you and I need to talk about you calling Klaus all the time, Care. There's got to be an empty bedroom in here. Hey, Jason, you guys packed up the beds and stuff yet?"

Jason answered, "Nope. Just the art and crap like that. C'mon in. Maybe you can explain to us what the hell is going on here." They all went into Klaus' house, leaving Damon, Stefan and Elena on the doorstep.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Damon turned to Stefan. "Okay, brother, let's think about this. We don't want to lead Ric somewhere that would make him suspicious. Like, the tomb under the old Fell's Church would definitely not work. It has to be somewhere that would make sense."

"He knows Klaus would only be coming back for either Elena, his hybrids, or both," Stefan said, as he and Elena climbed up the last few steps between themselves and Damon. "Tomorrow is a school day, so if Klaus was coming for Elena he would either go to the high school or to Elena's house."

"The high school is out. We _could_ have Liz shut the place down and evacuate it, citing a bomb threat, but there still might be too many civillians around. Also, I'd rather not do anything at Elena's house, because we would either have to invite them both in, or we would have to arrange an outdoor ambush in a residential neighborhood."

"Those are both bad options," Stefan agreed.

"Right." Damon stepped back, and looked up at Klaus' house. "This would work."

"What, here? At the mansion?" Elena asked. She looked up at the facade of the house, too.

"Yeah. Why not? Ric will just think Klaus is coming home first to get his hybrids, before coming to get you as well. There is no threshold barrier, so we can get them both inside. Once inside, though, I don't want them to leave." He pulled out his phone, and quickly dialed. "Lucy? How good are you at boundary spells? Really? Excellent. Yeah, I'll let you know when and where." He ended the call.

"Stefan, my brother, we need salt. And a lot of it," Damon said. "They have a mountain of it down at the depot where they keep the town's salt trucks. You know where that is?"

"Why not just use the kind of spell you trapped Katherine with last year?" Elena asked him.

Damon shook his head. "I don't think it would work on an area as large as what we need. I remember Bonnie saying it was for small locales only. And I need a space big enough to fit four hybrids, two evil bastards, and myself inside. We need room to fight, to maneuver."

Damon turned to the left and looked at Klaus' six car garage. He pointed at it. "Right there. If we empty that out, all except for a truck or two to hide everyone behind with weapons, that garage would be perfect. Room for all of us."

"And me, brother."

Damon laughed. "That is so never going to happen, Stefan. Nobody is going in the arena that we can risk actually dying."

Elena paused, and then asked, "Then why are you letting Klaus go in?"

Damon gave her a look, and then said, very softly, "There's a two for one special on beef jerky, baby."

Elena nodded. "Got it."

Damon turned back to his brother. "Salt, maybe. Weapons, definitely. Vervain, cross bows, the works. I'm assuming that hideously oversized truck in the driveway belongs to Jason. Take that, Stef. I need to call all my witches again, and conference with them. They might decide that salt isn't necessary and that a more simple trap spell actually will work for this space. Also, Jeremy needs to be ready. I hate bringing him into this, though, so if we can think of another human more apted to wear his ring and have their heart stopped twice in sucession, that would be fine. But let Jeremy sleep if he's already gone to bed, there's nothing he needs to do. It's almost 2 am, Klaus and Ric should be arriving here by noon, so he has time to rest. And-"

Elena put her hand on his arm. "Hey, there. Slow down. Take a breath, and slow down. We have some time, too, Damon."

He stopped, and looked at her, covering her hand with his. Following her advice, he took a deep breath. "You're right. You are definitely right."

Stefan stepped back, down one of the steps. "I'll talk to the witches and Jeremy, and take care of the weapons and other stuff. You guys take a moment."

Damon met his gaze. "Thank you, brother."

Stefan nodded, and then walked down the rest of the steps.

Damon looked at his girl, and raised an eyebrow. "So? I hear there are beds in this place."

"At this point, who needs a bed? I think we could make do with a nice, flat wall."

"I do like the way you think, babe."


	13. Chapter 13

After the wall, the floor, and a rather conveniently placed dresser had been utilized thoroughly, they finally did end up in Klaus's massive bed.

"Wow. Those were some pretty fancy moves for a dead guy," Elena said, her head and her bandaged hand resting on Damon's chest.

"I was already dead before, and you had no complaints then. And this body? This body can _do_ things."

"Well, I definitely approve. Our witches did a super nice job with you." Elena stretched along his length. "It's like you never get tired."

"I don't," Damon answered. "But you do. You want to get some shut eye?"

"Don't be stupid. Like I am going to waste any of our time together sleeping." Elena went quiet for a second, and then asked, "This body only lasts for twenty four hours. We only have until what? Eleven thirty, tonight? When are you going to be able to come back in another one?"

Damon, wrapped his arm around her head, and kissed the top of her head fiercely. "I'm not."

"What?" Elena struggled to sit up. "Wait - what do you mean?"

"You heard me talking to Klaus, right?" Damon said.

Her eyes searched his face. "Yes. But I didn't really understand the implications, I guess."

"I made a deal. I broke that deal. The deal is off."

"Because you refused to kill Tyler and the others?"

"Yes. That was my one shot," Damon said, meeting her eyes. He gave a short laugh, "It was supposed to be like Jeremy said. Like a video game. Identify targets, eliminate targets, climb the levels until you meet and defeat the boss, collect points along the way to win your reward. Being able to spend time with you was the reward. I went in trying to think of it like that. It wasn't any good, though. I failed you. I failed us."

Elena shook her head. "No. No, you didn't." With her finger, she traced his cheekbones. "I'm so proud of you, you have no idea."

"Proud?" Damon captured her finger in his hand. "I might never be able to touch you again, might never be able to hold you. I _promised_ you I would find my way back to you. And then I went and developed a conscience at the worst possible moment ever. I suck."

Elena laughed, softly. "You are wonderful. And the keyword there is 'might'. I'm not giving up hope. You found this way of coming back, you will find another. And really, Damon, you know I wouldn't have wanted it to happen like that. You think I could have been happy, knowing that Caroline had lost Tyler forever, just so I could gain you for a few days here and there?"

"You would have been so mad at me," Damon said, nibbling on her finger.

"Damn right, I would have. I would have been furious."

"Well, now you know what I was facing. Eternal damnation with no hope of return, or the fiery wrath of Elena. I guess I chose wisely after all."

Suddenly serious, Elena asked, "It's not just sitting around 'all bored and stuff' like you told Grace, is it? If it was, you wouldn't have had such a hard time killing Tyler and sending him there. Is it so much worse? It is terrible?"

"Elena- I can't talk to you about it. I'm sorry."

"How am I suppose to think of you, and picture you there if you won't share details with me? Damon, I need to know."

Damon said, "You really don't. Besides, you shouldn't be picturing me there at all. Stefan is right. You should open my will. You should throw me a funeral. You should find a way to say goodbye. You have to let me go."

"Never."

"Sweetness, let's get real. You're a kid. And the truth is that this, right now, is probably our last night together. The last one truly together. And that's okay, it really is."

"Didn't you hear me talking to Stefan about this earlier today?"

"I did. And I've never loved you more than I did at that moment. Your faith is a beautiful thing, Elena. And I am humbled by the fact that you believe in us like that. In me like that. Nobody ever has. And just carrying that knowledge with me, having seen the way you love me . . . that's going to make the rest of my after life so much better. You have no idea how much it's going to mean to me when I'm back on the Other Side. But you? You are _alive_. You need to live out the rest of your life without a ghost holding you back."

"Are you kidding me with this?" Elena said, shaking her head. "Have you forgotten that I'm the doppelganger, Damon? My days were numbered from the moment I was born. I've known for over a year that I'd never see thirty. I'll be lucky to see twenty. I'm much more likely to be either dead or a vampire by then, if not both. If I'm really lucky, I'll be alive, but locked up in some kind of blood draining room feeding Klaus's hybrid making twenty four seven."

Damon shook his head. "It's not going to happen. Stefan will protect you. He will never stop protecting you."

"Stefan almost turned me himself just a couple of months ago, remember? I love Stefan dearly, but you have to see what a powder keg he is. You know that. If you leave me here, and just give up on us, my fate is pretty much sealed, Damon."

"Elena, that is not fair."

"Hey, everything is fair when I'm fighting for us. You made me promises, and I am going to hold you to them."

Damon sighed. "Frustrating, impossible girl."

"Damn right." Elena yawned.

"It nearly four am, you really should sleep."

"Nope, not gonna," Elena said, as she lay down, and then snuggled into the pillow. "Not until you say you are going to come back to me. Promise and cross your heart. Wow, Klaus has a nice bed. Super nice, super comfy bed. He's an asshole, but his bed is so nice. Soft, soft and nice. He doesn't deserve a bed this nice."

"Uh huh," Damon said, as he pulled the blanket up to Elena's chin. "Nighty night, sweetness."

"Mmm hmmm," Elena murmured, before drifting off.

Damon listened to the noises of the night, including a chorus of snores from the various guest rooms in the house. Good to know that he and Elena hadn't kept everyone awake. He could hear that Caroline and Tyler were still arguing about Klaus a few doors down, though. Now that was interesting to Damon. Tyler was reminding Caroline that Klaus was a jerkface douchebag, and Caroline was saying that Klaus really just needed someone to teach him how to make real friends. Ha, Damon thought, good luck with that, Caroline. Totally siding with Tyler here.

On the bedside table, Damon's phone buzzed. "Hey, Stef," he answered, quietly.

"Don't want to interrupt, brother, but we should probably start making some plans. Meet me here in the garage?"

"Yeah, be right there." Damon ended the call, put the phone down, and then wrapped his arms around Elena, and kissed her on her bare shoulder. He lay there, holding her in his arms as she slept, feeling the weight and the warmth of her.

"I'll remember this forever. And forever is a really long time," he whispered to her. She stirred, and he kissed her cheek, before unwinding himself from her body, and leaving the bed. Work to do. So much work to do.

* * *

Stefan had already done a fair amount of the work. The garage had been cleared off all vehicles except Jason's big pickup truck (full of weapons and a container of vervain) parked on the far end of one side, and a large black SUV parked at the other side. The space between them was clear, and clean.

"Klaus keeps a tidy space. I appreciate that in a man," Damon commented, as he entered. "What did our witchy allies say?"

"No salt necessary, which is good. It would have been tricky to get Alaric to come in here without noticing a giant salt ring. Lucy says they can't spell the whole space into a trap, but I don't think we have to." Stefan walked to the center of the garage, under a large archway that separated the garage into two halves. "They are going to spell one half of it. There won't be anything to indicate to anyone that half is a trap, and the other half isn't."

"Excellent," Damon said, looking around the space. "So we have to make sure that Klaus and Ric both walk into the right half."

"Left half, actually."

"Whatever, you know what I mean. So my foot soldiers and I will be behind this SUV over here?" Damon walked over to the left side of the garage.

"Yes. I think you should be inside the SUV to make sure you aren't spotted. Let the four hybrids grab Alaric, and then you come out and desiccate him."

"Two for one, don't forget. Going to be tricky, tricky." Damon paused in the middle of the garage. "We're going to need more than one spell to handle this."

"What are you thinking?"

"Tell you after I talk to Lucy and the girls. Are they getting some rest?"

"More or less."

"I'm guessing more for Lucy and Bonnie, and less for Grace. I don't think that girl has a setting below 'uber excited'."

"She's pretty wired up, that's for sure. And she's worried about you."

"Me? I'm peachy keen, Stef. No complaints."

"I'm not stupid, Damon. I know what you gave up this night. Grace has been pleading your case to Emily for the past couple of hours."

"She's a sweet kid. But I knew the cost. She doesn't have to worry about me, I've made my peace with everything."

"Sure, you have," Stefan replied. "Don't believe that, brother."

"Brand new me, Stefan. Totally zen with being dead." Damon looked at his brother. "It sucks over there. Don't want to freak you out or anything, and you have to promise to never let Elena know. But it totally _sucks_."

Stefan was quiet, and then said, "There should be punishments. For all that we have done, and everything that we are. We have to be punished."

"I knew you would feel that way. You are going to _love_ it when it is your turn," Damon said. "Speaking of going back, did Grace tell you how it it is going to happen? When this body decides to quit?"

"Slowly at first, and then all at once," Stefan replied. "Over time, the bonds holding it together will loosen. She said you will start to feel a little less strong, a little less fast with every hour. And then, when the twenty fourth hour ends, that body will just . . . dissolve."

"Super fun. That's something to look forward to." He made eye contact with Stefan again. "You killed somebody tonight, didn't you?"

"How did you- Emily told you?"

"No, Emily is not speaking to me at the moment, and I'm not too fond of her, either. I was just making a guess, and you confirmed it. Anyone we know?"

"I don't think you knew her. Melody Fell. Goes to school with Elena and Caroline. I used to sit behind her in US History. She was walking home from a party or something, I suppose, and I passed her in the truck tonight. Stopped. Got out. Killed her. Drove away." Stefan shook his head, in misery. "It's been a bad couple of weeks."

Damon sighed. "How many others?"

"Two girls outside a bar in between here and Richmond a couple of nights after you died. A guy in an alley behind the Grill three nights ago. That's all."

"All that stress, and you living in the same house as two humans practically twenty four seven. You were bound to have trouble, Stefan. Every time Elena got a hang nail, or Jeremy cut himself shaving. Must have been rough."

"Not easy, no."

"Can I just say that, for a ripper, I think you are actually showing some progress? Isolated incidents, not massacres. Downright moderate, Stefan."

Stefan winced. "Right. I'll just pat myself on the back then, shall I? I almost fed on Elena tonight, Damon. _Elena,_ of all people. During the spell. I don't know how I held it together."

"Emily saw you were struggling, and she helped you. That's probably why you killed that girl tonight. Emily said she was going to ease your bloodlust, but it would have only lasted for awhile. And then I guess it came back even stronger." Damon placed a hand on either one of Stefan's shoulders. "Hey. I made you certain promises, Stef. I said I would be there for you every step of the way as you fought for some kind of balance. And then I left. I'm sorry."

"Not exactly your fault, brother. Not your fault at all."

"Fault or not, the result is the same. And I'm not coming back, you know. Emily has made herself pretty clear on that topic. And I can't fix you in the amount of time I have left. I can't do much at all before this body turns back into dust and water." Damon threw up his hands, and took a step back.

"As long as we are saying sorry, Damon, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to save you on that porch. I've thought about it so many times, replayed every moment in my head. I screwed up. I failed you."

Damon shook his head. "No. Jeremy is right about one thing, what is done is done. No going back, no fixing it. I've never blamed you for even a second, Stefan. Never spent one moment up there blaming you or thinking this was your fault. It wasn't. My time was just up. After all my years of misdeeds, I owed the Universe, and the Universe decided to collect."

"You actually sound far more accepting than I expected."

Damon laughed."Yeah, well, took me awhile to get there. It may have only been two weeks for you here, but I've been up there for what seems like a hundred years. Puts it all into perspective. Tonight, I even told Elena she had to let me go."

"I'll bet that went over well."

"You know Elena, she's-" Damon paused.

"Stubborn."

"Yeah."

"You are not going to insult me by asking me to take care of her after you are truly gone, are you?"

"No. I know you will. But I worry that dedicating your life to protecting Elena is going to ruin you. It's too much."

"I don't really see a solution. After you are gone this time, we're right back at square one with her grieving process, too," Stefan said, running hand through his hair. "Have to go through all of that again."

"Well, at least you know not to try pills this time. I was there for one of those discussions."

"You were there when Elena found the box in your closet, too, weren't you?"

"Yeah. All these years and I never knew that you knew about our mother and Francis Graziano."

"It didn't matter. And I never brought it up because I didn't want you to think that it did."

"You know, I looked up the Grazianos back in Spoleto in 1872."

"Did you really? I had no idea you went to Italy then. I was there much later than that, but I only went to Florence and Venice the first time. I didn't make it to Spoleto until after the second World War. There weren't even any Salvatores around anymore by then."

"Well, when I went, there were still plenty of Salvatores and Grazianos. I even got to see my grandfather, Francis Sr.. He didn't see me, I just watched him at prayers one Sunday morning. Found where the Maestris were living, too, but didn't actually want to run into any of them. Given my clear Graziano forebears, I thought it would be awkward all around if I was spotted. But I did do a little digging with the local gossips. That's how I found out that Francis Jr. died falling off his horse before he and our mother could take off together. Of course, if he hadn't died then, you and I wouldn't be standing here in this garage now."

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm. You would have died a peaceful death as an old Italian man, surrounded by your grandchildren sometime in the 1920s, and I would never have existed at all. Think of how many lives would have been saved if I had never existed at all."

"Oh, Stefan. You can't think that way. Down that path lies madness, trust me," Damon hesitated, and then said, "Speaking of madness, I do, actually, have a suggestion about how you can take care of Elena and still stay sane."

"What?"

"Less of a what, and more of a who. Katherine-" Damon turned, as Katherine entered the garage. "Well, well. Look who just decided to turn up for the fireworks."

Katherine gave them both a nod. "Stefan, so glad to see you. Got here earlier than I told you I would. Damon, I just love what you have done with the new body. It's hot. Hotter than the old one, maybe? Just a little bit? Those witches have good taste. Well, I showed up at the boarding house, found it empty. Went to Elena's house and got yelled at by an annoying Asian girl for waking everyone up. She sent me here."

"Stefan didn't tell me you were coming. What, no hug for the guy that returned from the dead? No happy tears to shed on my shoulder?" Damon asked, holding his arms wide open.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Right, like I would cry for you, Damon."

"Of course, you wouldn't, Katherine. Silly of me. Well, I'm actually quite glad you are here. Master strategist as you are, you can tell us everything that we are doing wrong."

"Probably easier to tell you what you are doing right. Going to do your trap in here?" Katherine walked around the garage. "Hmmm. Not crazy about it, to be honest. I do see certain advantages - but overall, there's a couple of glaring problems. Never the best idea to trap yourself alongside your prey."

"Ah, but I won't be."

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"It's a vampire trap, right? Well, guess who isn't a vampire anymore? Can't trap a ghost inside a fake body with anything, really. Push comes to shove, I just jump out of this body, and fly away. But I won't even need to do that here. Just walk in and out."

"Oh," Katherine said. "Well, that is clever. So you are the only one who will be able to come and go. And you are, I assume, planning on trapping Klaus as well?"

"Two for one."

"Right. What are you going to do about the hybrids? If you try anything, Klaus can just command them to kill you. Pardon me, to destroy your fake body."

"Not if he can't actually speak to them. Trying to find the best way to accomplish that, actually. The trickiest bit of all, other than finding a way to prevent Klaus from giving orders to his minions, is how to actually _do_ two for one. Jeremy can't revive all that quickly. Too bad we don't have two eternity rings anymore. We have plenty of witches, but not enough humans for them to stop the hearts of."

"Really? How hard can it be to nab a human, and make them lie still?"

"No, we won't be doing that, Katherine," Stefan said.

Katherine sniffed. "You boys are weak, but you already know that. If your plan fails simply because you aren't willing to do everything it takes, it will be on your head."

"Great, thanks. Needed the encouragement. Any real suggestions?" Damon asked.

"That thing Lucy did to me last year. Remember, when she handed me the moonstone? I was incapacitated for half an hour. It hurt, too."

"Oh, yeah, I do remember that. Probably wouldn't take Klaus down for that long, but we don't actually need that long anyway to desiccate him. So after we deal with Ric, I hand him something Lucy has spelled, he hits the ground, and bada bing bada boom. Beef jerky times two."

"But how do we keep Klaus in here long enough for Jeremy to revive without making him suspicious? It most likely won't take him down _that_ long," Stefan objected. "And if you just stall him, and hand him the object later, you risk having him rescind his order to his hybrids to obey you."

"It's complicated, isn't it?" Damon said, scratching his chin. "Starting to think we need to focus just on Ric, and forget Klaus for right now."

"If we don't do something to Klaus, he's going to take Elena away," Stefan said.

"Dude, I know," Damon sighed. "Trust me, I'm aware of that."

"This is the closest I feel that we have ever been to taking down Klaus, and I've waited 500 years. Do not screw this up, boys. Again."

"Oh, Katherine," Damon said, turning to her. "Kindly shut it." He turned back to his brother. "What if we just leave him here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. We use Klaus to lure Ric in. We take down Ric. I hand Klaus the sleepy time object, whatever that might be, and he hits the ground. The witches remove the spell, the hybrids get to leave. The witches put the spell back up, and Klaus is trapped right here, in this garage, forever and ever - or until you guys think of something else to do to him. Since I won't be around anymore to do your thinking for you."

"Huh," Stefan said. "It's simple. I kind of like it. We could just wall him inside. I can steal a concrete truck tomorrow, easy."

Katherine shook her head. "No, no, no. Klaus will just tear the building down."

"Won't matter if the witches make the spell surround the whole interior of that garage half, ceiling included. He won't even be able to touch the building to tear it down."

"Can they do that?" Katherine asked.

"Maybe? Guess we need to find out. Also, we need to break into a Radio Shack for communication devices, and steal a delivery van," Damon said. "The witches need to be close by inside something that isn't glaringly obvious. And I have to stay in touch with them."

"You watch too much tv, Damon. Totally addicted to spy dramas, aren't you?" Katherine said.

"Not going to be a problematic addiction in the future," he said, giving her a smile. "We don't get great cable reception in the Other Side. And the wifi is just _terrible_."


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Thank you for the lovely reviews! Every time I see a new one come in, it totally makes my day. And I appreciate the fact that some people are recommending this story to their friends. I post my fics so quickly, they don't have much of a chance to build an audience - so personal recs are a great thing.

* * *

Stefan volunteered to nab a nondescript delivery van and to rob the Radio Shack at the mall in the few hours of darkness remaining, and Damon made sure Katherine went with him. There was no doubt Stefan needed a babysitter, and there was also no doubt that Katherine would love to sign up for that job. Damon hoped those two crazy kids could work it out between themselves someday. Between the two of them, maybe they could actually keep Elena alive to see thirty.

Speaking of, Damon went back into Klaus' house and Klaus's bedroom and Klaus's bed where his own crazy kid was sleeping away their last few hours together. She was going to be so mad when she woke up and realized that he had let her sleep. He loved her this way. Loved how she felt, up against his fabricated body, loved the way she breathed in her sleep. Without Esther or Jeremy blocking him in the future, he hoped he'd be able to be like this with her as many nights as possible after he left this body behind. She wouldn't know he was there, though.

Or maybe she would? He still had never figured out how he'd been able to hit Jeremy in the head that one time. It would give him something to practice. Maybe he actually would be able to touch her again someday, even if only for a second.

It was something to live for, so to speak.

He was right, she was mad when she woke up. Elena stretched and opened her eyes. "Damon?" she mumbled, with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"About six."

Elena sat up with a start, the sheet slipping from her bare shoulders. "What? You jerk, why did you let me sleep?" She hit Damon in the chest.

"Ow. It's not like I held a gun to your head and forced you to. And you are the cutest thing ever when you are sleeping." He sat up, and brushed her hair aside to kiss the nape of her neck. Damon traced the nearly faded marks on her neck with a finger. "You can still see where you fed me a couple of weeks ago."

"I can't believe it's only been thirteen days. Thirteen days of emptiness and tears. Felt like forever." She turned and looked at him. "If you are hungry-"

Damon smiled. "I love you and your generous spirit, Elena. But no. I don't get hungry in this body. Don't need blood, don't need food, don't need sleep."

"That is so weird."

"I know, right? Still getting used to it. I'm just super lucky the sex stuff still works."

"We both are. You wouldn't exactly be you, if it didn't."

Damon chuckled, his mouth nuzzling the side of her neck again. He pulled away. "Hate to say it, but-"

Elena sighed. "I know. Busy day."

* * *

Busy day or not, Damon decided that he and Elena should enjoy the luxurious benefits of Klaus's giant limestone shower. Then after they dressed themselves (or more accurately, each other), Damon convened everyone - hybrids, witches, vampires, doppelganger, and human - in the garage at seven am.

It was a fairly motley crew, but one that he was confident in. It was missing somebody, though. No human.

"Really, y'all couldn't wake Jeremy up at all this morning?" he asked Grace and Bonnie. They shook their heads. "Teenage boys. Well, no matter. Just make sure you fill him in later. It's not like his role is a very active one. Okay, so I just got off the phone with Klaus, and he knows the plan. He's going to try and lose Ric as soon as they hit town, just long enough so Klaus can arrive here a few minutes ahead. He's going to drive into the left side of the garage. We are going to keep the other door closed, so Ric will only be able to enter the one on this side of the archway. That will, of course, lead him into the trap. Klaus will exit his car and stand where he will be clearly visible to Ric when he pulls in. As soon as Ric walks into the garage to try and stake Klaus, Jason, Sarah, Tyler and Marissa will come out from behind this SUV here, and attack him. You guys need to force him to the ground, you understand? Three of you will have stakes or crossbows and, you, Tyler, will have this." Damon pulled a giant water gun from underneath the tarp in the back of the pick-up truck. "The SuperSoaker Blaster Electric Storm. Fully automatic, no pump, filled with vervain. Thank you, Hasbro, and thank you, Stefan, for robbing a toy store last night. Good thinking. You start firing at him with this, Tyler, as soon as he walks in. Just be careful not to hit your fellow soldiers, got it?"

"Dude, I am so good with one of those," Tyler said.

"Yeah, figured you would be. Okay, so that is what we will get him down to the ground with. I will come out of the SUV once he is down, and make contact with his heart to start the desiccation process. You guys need to keep him down, the whole time. Make sure you have his arms pinned, because he is a heart ripping bastard. Keep an eye out for his shiny silver stake, too, and see if you can separate him from it." He pointed at the ear piece in his left ear. "I'll use this to tell Bonnie to start the spell. She and the other witches will be in the florist's van, parked at the corner of the street and the driveway. They will all have ear pieces. By the way, for those of you on the comm system, you have to push this button here to talk, got it? Otherwise we can't hear you. Jeremy, of course, will be in the van with the witches, ready to be our sacrificial lamb. Caroline and Leslie are on 'protect the van' duty, just in case. Yes, Elena?"

Elena put her hand down. "And me?"

Damon just sighed as he looked at her. "No use telling you to go home and stay home, I guess?"

Elena shook her head.

"Fine, then you can be in the van with the witches, Jeremy, Caroline and Leslie. Yikes, it's going to be crowded. I hoped everyone took a shower and used deodorant this morning. Make sure she stays there, guys."

"No, I don't want to be that far from where everything is happening. And I definitely won't be that far away from you."

"Elena, we can't protect you."

"When have I ever cared about that?"

Stefan just shook his head, and looked at his brother. "If you don't find a spot for her, she'll just come running out here in the middle of things, and ruin it all."

Elena glared at him. "Thanks, Stefan. I'm not a complete idiot."

"Point taken, though, Stef. What about the roof on this garage, Elena? There's a ladder in the back that leads up to a roof deck on top. I suppose Klaus installed it for catching some rays."

Elena nodded. "I'll be able to hear up there, and still stay hidden. That works for me."

"Great. Now that we have your suicidal tendencies out of the way, let's get on with it." Damon hesitated. He was definitely not going to share his two for one plan with the hybrids. Or with Caroline, who had some wort of weird friendship with Klaus going on. "Actually, I think that covers it. Get Ric to the ground, I'll dry him out, the witches will lift the trap spell, and we all walk out, alive more or less. Yes, Sarah?'

"When is this supposed to happen?"

"The latest ETA from Klaus has him arriving here at approximately 11:45. So if you all have things you want to do around the house this morning, feel free. Just don't go too far, and keep your phones on in case something changes. Really, only the witches need to stay here at the garage, because they have some prep work to do. So unless you hear otherwise, meet here at eleven o'clock. Yes, Marissa?"

"I have a hair appointment at ten."

"Highlights only, or are you doing your whole head?" Caroline asked her. "Because I think your highlights look fine. You might only need to touch up your roots."

"I think you should leave the roots, and just go ombre," Grace suggested. "It looks so cute on Drew Barrymore. And you have a very Drew Barrymore kind of face."

"Really? You think so?" Marissa asked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yes, we all think so. Cancel it. Any other questions? Yes, Caroline?"

"I have a prom planning meeting at Melody Fell's house at three fifteen. Will we be done by then? I can't miss it."

Damon looked at Stefan, who looked away and didn't meet his eyes. Katherine put her hand on Stefan's arm.

"Probably, Caroline. No worries. You think I don't know how important prom is? I'd never interfere with your prom," Damon answered her. She'd find out soon enough.

After the hybrids and Caroline dispersed and Damon was sure they couldn't hear him, he let the witches and everyone else in on the rest of the plan.

"So," he said, softly. "We aren't lifting the spell after Ric is dried out. Instead, I need you, Lucy, to spell something the way you did the moonstone last year, when you incapacitated Katherine. Going to use that on Klaus, and take him down, too."

"Thanks for that, by the way," Katherine said, looking at Lucy.

"No problem, old friend," Lucy responded. "Sure, I can do that. What should I spell?"

Damon looked at the array of weapons. "It'll need to be something not so weird for me to hand him. Actually, it'll work as soon as it makes contact, right? So let's spell this stake, right here, and I'll just stake the bastard. I'll set this one way to the side, and make sure nobody else touches it. Now it won't affect me, right?"

Lucy shook her head. "It shouldn't. It's vampire specific, and you aren't one. Anymore."

"So true. Speaking of, will I even be able to be the designated desiccator? I have to drink Bonnie's blood, right? I haven't tried drinking anything in this body."

They all looked at Grace, who furrowed her brow. "I think so? In theory, your body will absorb the blood, and it will still make a connection. Maybe we should make sure some other folks drink her blood- gross, by the way- as well, just to be safe."

Damon nodded. "Okay, Katherine and Stefan, that would be you guys. We'll have you behind the truck on the other side of the garage. The non trap side, of course. We have enough ear pieces for you as well. It's good to have back up agents if everything goes kablooey. Otherwise, we are good with this spell, right, Bonnie? No missing steps?"

"Not this time," Bonnie answered grimly. "I went and had a long talk with Abby. And Grace confirmed the spell with Emily back when Emily was still working with us."

"She's freezing you guys out, too? That doesn't seem fair."

"My fault, probably," Grace said. "I think I nagged her to death last night, pardon the pun. She's not actively helping us anymore. Also, the witches over there blame her for the way you went rogue, so she's caught up in witch politics right now. They think she should have handled you better."

"He can be very hard to handle," Elena said, with a smirk. "Emily shouldn't blame herself."

"Oh, and there's a witch named Bree that's causing a lot of trouble. She never wanted to send you back, because she says you are unpredictable. Big surprise, given how things turned out. Bree came to me at home a few days ago, to talk me out of coming to Virginia. She wants to try to figure out the loophole instead. Obviously, there has to be one, right? Esther wouldn't have created an eternal monster with an unlimited lifespan. So that's the angle I think Bree is arguing with the alliance right now. They have pretty much given up on you," Grace said.

"Oh, Bree. Still holding a grudge against me."

"Wait, when did Bree die? I liked her," Elena commented. "She was nice, and I thought she liked you."

"She died about twenty minutes after you last saw her. When I ripped her heart out at her bar."

"What?" asked Elena.

"Did I forget to mention that to you on our way back from Georgia? Yeah, well. That happened."

Grace shook her head. "Um, do you do that a lot? Ripping the hearts out of witches?"

"Totally reformed, kid. I swear. Now I love me some witches. Well, live ones anyway. Dead ones bug me at the moment."

"So back to the plan . . . are we desiccating Klaus, too?" Bonnie asked. "Because I don't see how Jeremy is going to recover fast enough."

"No, that's the crucial flaw in all of this. Stupid Jeremy's stupid recovery time. So for right now, we are just taking Klaus down, and hoping he will stay down long enough to lift the trap spell to get the hybrids out, and then put the trap back in place to keep Klaus in. I wish we knew exactly what effect the incapacitating spell would have on a hybrid Original. If it really is long enough, we could take him somewhere else during his naptime. Encase him in concrete or something, I don't know. But trapping him is a good first step towards preventing him from getting any crazy ideas about taking off with Elena after this is over."

"I think it should take him down long enough to do what you need us to with the trap spell," Lucy said. "If Bonnie and Grace and I work together, and use Ayanna's pendant, we can do the trap spell pretty fast. Also, we can boost the power of the incapacitating spell, too. I cannot guarantee he will be down long enough for Jeremy to go a second round, though."

"I don't want Jeremy going a second round," Elena interjected. "That can't be good for him, or his heart."

"I know, babe. And don't worry, we won't put Jeremy at any real risk. We'll figure something else out for Klaus. It might mean walling off this entire garage, and just never letting him out."

"It occurred to me this morning that if we wall him up, we will have to deal with Rebekah," Stefan said. "She'll come looking for him after Ric is no longer a threat. Doesn't matter how thick we build a wall, she can tear it down."

"I still think we should grab another human, and dry Klaus out at the same time," added Katherine. "I do not want to risk Klaus coming out of this trap even angrier than when he went in."

Bonnie shook her head. "Not happening. Not a single witch here is going to agree to that."

Katherine gave them all an angry sigh. "We're all going to die. Klaus is going to be furious, and we are all going to die."

"Well, hey, then I'll have some company up there," Damon remarked. "It'll be a party. Speaking of, everyone, get to cracking on the Welcome Home party we are throwing for our favorite two evil bastards. Hop to it."

Damon stepped away from the truck, and helped Elena stand up. He linked arms with her. "C'mon, Rapunzel, let's go take a look at your tower."

* * *

"Wow, this could totally work. It's nice up here. Look at the view," Elena said, as she slowly turned around up on the roof deck.

"From Big Schloss all the way to Clinch Mountain," Damon agreed.

Elena gave him a look, "Right. I was thinking more along the lines from the driveway all the way to the mansion. And there''s no way you could see Big Schloss or Clinch from here, Damon."

"I know, Elena. I was being facetious." Damon looked around. The decking was teak, and so were the few pieces of furniture. Two loungers and a small table. "It looks like he wasn't sure what to do up here. I'll bet he was going to put in a hot tub eventually. Probably built it thinking Rebekah would enjoy it. A lot of space, though. Maybe too much." He frowned. "I don't like it."

"What's not to like? I have a great view of anyone coming down the driveway, so I'll know exactly when Ric and Klaus arrive. I can even see the van from here, too."

"You are not an arial scout posted to give us reports, you hear me? If you stay up here, you are not to move, you are not to speak, you are not to breathe."

"I have to breathe, Damon."

"Okay, fine, but do it quiet, you understand? Don't doze off and do that little snore thing you do."

"I don't snore!"

"Well, not loud enough for a human to hear, but it would be distracting for a vampire." Damon flexed his knees on the decking, testing it with his feet. "Solid. And open air. With everything else going on, maybe they won't hear your heartbeat up here."

"Can you hear my heartbeat?"

"Of course, sweetness. It's one of my favorite things about you. I especially love hearing it when I do this," With a swift move, he brought her close to him, so her back was up against the length of his front. With one hand he trailed up, underneath the edge of her shirt, to trace his finger along the bottom of her ribcage. He breathed on her neck, and Elena shivered,"Remember when I did this a few months ago, when I was showing you the way to a vampire's heart? _Your_ heart did crazy things. Made me very happy to hear it. That's when I knew that kissing you wouldn't be so out of the question eventually. No longer an option off the table. You wanted me."

"I did," Elena said, in a whisper. "I do."

Still stroking her ribcage, Damon nibbled the side of her neck. "Love you, girl." He breathed along her neck. "Love you, love you, love you."

Elena twisted around, to hold his face in her hands. "Eternity, right? You swear it?"

Damon took a deep breath, and rested his forehead on hers. "Oh, Elena. I don't know how to make you promises anymore. It'll be eternity for me, you know that. But what are we supposed to do about you? You're a problem, sweetness. You're a problem I just can't solve. My stubborn girl. I'm not going to be here."

She kissed him again and again, her mouth searching for answers that he couldn't give her. After they broke away, she rested her forehead on his again, and said, "You will. You will."

Damon stepped back, and shook his head. "And now that we have given everyone in the garage a nice show to eavesdrop on, let's get back to this roof deck. I don't like you being up here. I think you need to stay in the van."

"Not an option, so don't even bring it up. This is going to be fine. I'll bring a blanket up here, I'll lay down flat. Nobody will see me."

"There's no rail at all. You have to stay far, far from the edge, do you hear me?"

Elena sighed. "Yes, Damon. Because I'm just that stupid."

"Hey, don't blame me for having a good memory. So many of our schemes have gone awry over dumb stuff. Trying to cover every single base this time."

"You really have put a lot of thought into this one."

"Well, it's my very last grand scheme ever, Elena. So if it's going to fail, I want it to fail in the most colossal ways possible. That was sarcasm."

"Your very last grand scheme until the one where you figure out how to come back to me again, you mean."

Damon sighed. "My stubborn girl."


	15. Chapter 15

It was a beautiful sunny day. It could not have been more different from the stormy dark that had heralded Damon's death on Elena's porch. Damon could only hope that the good weather was an omen for better luck than they had had on that day two weeks before.

By 11:40, everyone was in place. The van was parked close enough to be in sight, but not close enough that it would be conspicuous - and it was full of witches, vamps and and a still sleepy Jeremy. Damon and his hybrid recruits were either behind the SUV, or, in Damon's case, just inside it. Tyler had his SuperSoaker at the ready, and he was wearing gloves so the vervain wouldn't drip onto his hands. The stake that Lucy had spelled to put Klaus to sleep was on a work bench they had pulled close to the SUV, and nowhere near the other stakes and weapons. Damon had warned the hybrids to stay clear of that one, although he didn't tell them why. Katherine and Stefan, ear pieces in, were behind the truck on the other side, with extra weapons and vervain hidden under a tarp in the back of the truck.

When Damon, Katherine and Stefan drank Bonnie's blood from a vial before getting into position, it had tasted surprisingly gross to Damon. Well, not gross, exactly, but there had been very little actual taste to it. Damon remembered what Bonnie's blood tasted like when he was a vampire. She had a delicate bouquet, very nice. This was just blood, coppery and bland. A small part of Damon actually missed being able to enjoy the various flavors of blood. He'd probably feel the same way about wine, now. He doubted it would taste good, either.

But hey, as long as the sex was still good, then he had no real complaints about this body. He could actually feel the bonds loosening, though. Damon's reflexes were slower than they had been earlier that morning, his strength seemed to be waning. He calculated that he was still stronger than he had been as a vampire, but maybe not strong enough anymore to have handled Ric on his own. Even his hearing was becoming less and less super. It was a reminder of how little time he had left. But it was okay. Today had been a gift, and everything was okay. Just let them all survive this, that was all he could ask for.

Elena, blast her stubborn hide, was in her chosen position on the roof. Damon had walked around the entire garage three times to make sure that there was no possibility that anyone could spot her up there. If she just stayed down, all would be well.

"I see Klaus's car." Damon heard Elena say, very softly from her spot on the roof.

"Damnit, Elena, keep it shut. And you shouldn't be able to see anything if you are keeping your head down," Damon said with a growl. Marissa giggled, and he shot her a look. "You keep it shut, too, missy."

In his ear piece, he heard Bonnie say, "Bastard One has landed. Keeping an eye out for Bastard Two. No sight of him yet."

Damon pushed the button on his wire. "Roger that," he responded, making Marissa giggle again. He glared at her. "Should have staked you with something even more painful last night."

Klaus pulled his car, a slick silver Audi, into the garage, right into the trap, as he had been instructed. There was a nice large gap in between the Audi and the SUV. As Klaus exited the Audi, Damon climbed out of the back seat of the SUV.

"Klaus."

"Well, well. Reports of your death were greatly exaggerated, I see."

"Eh, not really. Ric give you any trouble?"

"No. I lost him as soon as we hit town. He thinks I'm going to Elena's house, so he must be several minutes behind me. He drives like a history teacher. Where are my hybrids?"

Damon waved towards them. "There. Unharmed entirely."

Marissa popped her head out from behind the SUV, and gave him a wave. "Hey, Klaus!"

Klaus nodded at her. "And Caroline?"

"She's up in the van with my witches."

Tyler popped his head out, too. "Dude, why are you asking about Caroline? That is not cool."

Damon shot him a look. "Shut it, Lockwood. No alpha male-ing it during the ambush. Resolve your territorial differences later. You can each take turns pissing on her, or something."

Klaus just smiled. He walked around the space. "Thank you for cleaning out my garage, Damon. One of those chores I just kept putting off."

Damon shrugged. "You know me, happy to be of service."

"And we are trapped here?"

"Yep. But no worries. Once Ric is down and jerkified, the witches will pop us all out. Easy peasy."

"They will pop us _all_ out, Damon?"

"Yes, Klaus."

"No funny business at all?"

"Nope. I am not a funny guy, Klaus. You should know that by now."

"Good. I don't know the mechanics of your new body, but I assume that you can be hurt. And my dear hybrid friends are very good at hurting people. Wouldn't be smart to trap yourself in here with me and them, and then try to trick us."

"So suspicious. If I was planning a double cross, I would never trap myself in here with you and your minions, Klaus. That would be dumb. And I am not dumb."

"Well . . . ."

"Funny. See, I knew you were the funny one."

Klaus walked around the SUV, and looked at his hybrids. "They are armed. I should be, too." He glanced behind himself, and then turned to reach out to the work bench. "Ah, here's one."

Even as Damon managed to get the word, "Don't!" out, Klaus had picked up the spelled stake, and was twitching on the ground, his eyes closed.

"Fucking hell," Damon said, staring down at Klaus. "That just blows."

The hybrids all stood up, and also looked down at Klaus.

"What just happened?" Tyler asked.

Katherine came around the Audi, and entered the trap area. "Huh," she said. "Interesting."

"Katherine, what the hell? Now you are stuck in here," Damon said, with a sigh. "Can we just have one thing go right? Ric will be here any minute, and now we have no bait."

Katherine shrugged. "I'll play Elena. He'll come in here for her." She cocked her head at Damon. "I'm not wasting this opportunity, though."

Before he could ask her what she meant, Katherine had snatched the ear piece from Damon's ear and crushed it under her boot heel. "What the-" Damon got out, before Katherine picked him up and threw him out of the trap area, out of the garage door and onto the driveway.

"Bonnie, now!" Damon heard Katherine say into her own earpiece. "Ric came up from behind the garage, and I've got him."

Damon stood up, and sped into the garage, but he was too late. Katherine already had a grip on Klaus's heart, and he was already desiccating.

Damon tried to pull Katherine off of Klaus, but she used her other arm to thrust him away. Apparently, a 500 year old vamp was now strong enough to hold his new body back. It was a terrible time to find out that the bonds holding his body together had loosened to that point. He hadn't been anywhere near as fast as before, either. He hadn't been fast enough.

Damon sank to his knees, as Klaus turned gray and dried up. "No, no no."

From the roof, Elena said, "What is going on? I can't hear everything. What is happening?"

He turned to the four hybrids who were just standing there. "What the fuck? Why didn't you stop her?"

Jason shrugged. "You didn't tell us to. Our very last order was to obey you."

"Stefan!" Damon roared.

"He can't hear you," Katherine said. "I snapped his neck before coming into the trap. He would have stopped me." She stood up, and wiped her bloody hand on her jeans. "That was kind of gross."

Damon stood up. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to strangle you. I'm going to set you on fire. I'm going to stake the everloving _fuck_ out of you, Katherine."

"I didn't ruin your precious plan, Damon. I just swapped one bastard for the other. Now, instead of drying out the hunter, we trap him in here and wall him up like you were going to do to Klaus. No one is going to bother digging Alaric out. This is a better plan."

"We can't swap them, you bitch. I have no sleepy time object to put him down with. The stake was one use only. Now you, and the hybrids, will all be trapped here _with_ Ric. Who is most likely going to just kill you all."

Katherine shrugged. "We'll think of something."

"I feel weird," Jason said. "What is this feeling?"

Tyler looked at him. "Freedom, Dude. That's what you feel."

Sarah said, "Wow. I feel it, too. It feels good."

Damon heard Bonnie coming through on Katherine's earpiece. "Did it work? Did you take down Ric?"

Katherine pushed her talk button. "No. I tricked you. We took down Klaus instead. Your history teacher hasn't shown up yet."

"What?"

"Tell her we might need witchy help when Ric shows up. Have them be on standby," Damon said, through gritted teeth. He didn't know exactly how to salvage this clusterfuck, but he knew witches would be the key.

"Did you hear that, Bonnie? Practice your witchy migraines up there. We'll probably need that," Katherine told her.

Bonnie signed off, but Damon could tell she was pissed.

"Ric's car is pulling in," Elena said, from on the roof.

"You are not a scout, Elena. Head down." Damon made a frustrated sound. "I hate everyone right now. You, most of all, Katherine. Okay, stand where Ric can see you. Maybe he'll fall for this after all. Trapping him is at least something. Everyone else, back to your positions. Damnit, can't leave Klaus' body here for Ric to stake."

Quickly, Damon pulled Klaus around the Audi, out of the trap area and into the other part of the garage. Stefan was lying there beside the truck, his head at an awkward angle. Damon pulled the tarp off the back of the truck and covered both Klaus and Stefan with it.

"Poor Stef, what strange bedfellows you are," Damon said. He went back around the Audi, to the trap area, and climbed back into the SUV.

Katherine stood in the middle of the empty gap.

Damon hissed at her, "Elena would never stand like that. You're scared, not trying to seduce him."

She immediately altered her pose, and hunched her shoulders.

Seconds went by. Then everyone went very still as Ric's footsteps could be heard on the pavement. His footsteps paused outside of the garage.

"Elena?"

"Ric?" Katherine did do a very good job of making her voice go all wavery, Damon had to give her credit for that.

"What are you doing here? Where's Klaus?"

"I don't know. He . . . came and got me. He put me in the garage, he had to to um . . he had to go get something. I'm scared, Ric."

"Why do you have blood on you? Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so. I fell. "

"Doesn't smell right." They all heard Ric take a step back. "And you aren't running away. And you don't have your Salvatore bodyguard."

He took another step back away from the garage. "This is a trap. And you aren't Elena."

"No, but I am."

It took every fiber of Damon's being to not yell at Elena at that second. His brave, stubborn, stupid girl. He could hear her on the roof. He could tell she was standing up, standing near the edge for Ric to see her.

"Ah, Elena. What exactly is going on here?" Ric asked.

"I'm not sure. Klaus came and got me, I dont even know what he did to Stefan. Stefan could be dead for all I know. He stuck me on this roof and took away the ladder so I couldn't get away. I guess he put Katherine down there to trap you, or as a decoy or something. I don't want to go anywhere with Klaus, Ric."

"I'm sure you don't. So help me, Elena. I'll bring you down, we'll kill Klaus together. And I'll keep you safe. You won't have to worry about him anymore."

"Why would you want me safe, Ric? Don't you hate me for how I love vampires? Don't you want me dead?"

Very quietly, the slightest whisper, Damon heard Katherine say into her ear piece, "Witches, we need you. Everyone now."

"That doesn't matter anymore, Elena. All the vampires will be dead soon. The world will be free, and so will you. You can start your life over - grow up, fall in love, have kids, grow old. Everything you wanted, everything I wanted for you. That normal human life that vampires were holding you back from. But right now, we just need to get you down. You are making me nervous being that close to the edge."

Damon had to agree with Ric. It was making him nervous, too.

"Making you nervous? Why is that? Why should you worry-" Damon heard Elena gasp. "That's it, I understand. Esther used my blood to make you. I'm the loophole. It's me."

"What? You're talking crazy," Ric said. "Just step back away from the edge, okay? I'm coming up there."

"If I die, you die," Elena said. Damon heard her take another step closer to the edge of the deck. "Let's end this."

Damon came out of the SUV like a raging bull, but he was too late. Elena had fallen to the pavement.

The witches were also too late to save her from falling. They all three came down the driveway, chanting, holding their hands out, sending wave after wave of migraines to Ric, who had hit the ground and was writhing. Tyler, too, had come out from behind the SUV and was shooting Ric through the open garage door with vervain from his SuperSoaker. The other hybrids came to the edge of the trap - Jason firing cross bolts, and Marissa and Sarah throwing stakes at Ric's twitching body. He screamed from the pain, quickly resembling a scalded porcupine, bristling with bolts and stakes.

But for Damon, the world was quiet. "No, no, no, no. I wasn't fast enough. Why wasn't I fast enough?" He cradled Elena's bloody head in his hands, her blood soaking his knees through his jeans.

"Can't you hear her?" Katherine said. "She's breathing."

"She is," Damon said, choking on a sob. "She is breathing. Heal her, Katherine, I don't have any blood."

"I'm trapped. I can't get to her."

Caroline and Leslie reached Elena and Damon at the same time, but it was Caroline who had her wrist open and up to Elena's mouth first.

"Elena, sweetie, you need to drink," Caroline said, urgently, pushing her slit wrist to Elena's mouth.

"C'mon, baby, c'mon. Drink it up," Damon was pleading.

Caroline forced the blood down her throat, and Elena began to choke.

"That's it, it's going to be fine." He stroked her hair back from her forehead. "Going to be fine."

"It's not going to be fine, Damon. You know what you have to do," Katherine said.

"No," Damon shook his head. "No. Shut up, Katherine. You don't get to talk. This is your fault."

Elena opened her eyes with a flutter. "Damon?"

"Here, baby. Right here."

Elena lifted her head enough to see Ric on the ground, still writhing and groaning from the vervain, the bolts, and the witch assault. The silver stake was beside him, but it had rolled away just out of his reach.

"He's not dead. I'm not dead," Elena said, in a murmur.

"No, you're not." Damon said. Caroline and Leslie, both scooted back, as Elena sat up.

From inside the trap, Katherine said. "You know what has to happen, Elena."

Elena touched the back of her head, and then looked down at the blood on her hands. "I'm supposed to be dead." She looked up at Damon. "Katherine is right. You have to. I want it to be you."

Damon's eyes filled with tears. "I won't do it."

"You will. You have to end it."

"We'll just push him into the trap, that'll work."

"No," Elena said, "That won't end it, not really."

Damon just shook his head. "Forever is a long time for you to hate me, Elena."

"I won't. I love you. I won't hate you."

He cradled her face in his hands, and met her eyes. He kissed her sweetly, and then pulled back. "You won't? You swear? You promise?"

"Cross my heart."

And in one fluid movement, before he could change his mind, Damon snapped Elena's neck.


	16. Chapter 16

And it was all over except for the clean up. They had five corpses to deal with. Jeremy in the van, Ric and Elena on the pavement, Klaus and Stefan under the tarp in the garage.

The sunshine and blue skies seemed to deny the deaths that had just happened. The sacrifice just made.

Grace, Bonnie and Lucy unspelled the trap area, and the hybrids and Katherine were free. After helping to bring down the spell, Bonnie went back to the van to wait for Jeremy to recover. Grace and Leslie tidied up the weapons and vervain. Lucy took charge of the silver stake.

As soon as the spell was lifted, Sarah packed her stuff and left. She had a son to get back to who had been living with her mother in Pensacola ever since she was caught by Klaus and made a hybrid. Klaus wouldn't allow her to even communicate with them, and she was worried sick that her mother hadn't been keeping up with her son's medication. She hugged Marissa, fist bumped Jason, and was gone.

Jason and Marissa stayed, though, and helped Tyler drag Stefan, Klaus, and Ric into the mansion foyer for the time being. Wouldn't do for the mailman to come by and see dead vampires piled in the driveway. Caroline tried to cancel her prom planning meeting, but she couldn't reach Melody by phone. Not exactly the time to be deciding between prom themes. She also insisted on being the one to watch over Klaus's body, despite Tyler's protests. She asked them to put Klaus in a coffin, but all of his coffins had been packed up already. So she sat there with him, on the cold marble. Katherine sat beside Caroline on the foyer floor as well, and waited for Stefan to revive.

Damon knew nothing about any of that. Directly after snapping his girl's neck, he had carried her all the way back to her home. Damon had spoken to no one. He didn't even wait to make sure that Elena's death had meant Ric's death. He wanted her to wake up in her own room, in her own bed. In his arms.

He cared nothing for what anyone else was doing, but she belonged to him. The cost of their success that day had staggered him. He was angry with himself. Angry with Katherine. There were only a handful of hours left to him on earth, and he wasn't going to move one inch from Elena. He only hoped she would wake up long before his body began to dissipate. He couldn't leave her without saying goodbye.

Damon carried Elena to her room. He lay her down on her bed. Then he crawled in beside her, and wrapped her in his arms. This was where they were going to be.

"Don't wake up naughty," he whispered to her. "Don't be like me, or Stef, or Katherine. Stay pure like Jenna so you can find peace. Because when it's your turn, I don't want there to be any burning for you. No knives in the night. You have to stay pure, Elena. You have to."

* * *

Some time later, he heard the front door open, as the others returned. He heard Grace and Bonnie and Lucy go into the kitchen and start making themselves lunch.

Damon adjusted his position on Elena's bed, so that he was sitting against her headboard, and she was cradled on his lap, her head laying against his chest. Dead weight against him. There was still blood matted in her hair and on her clothes. Maybe he should do something about that. But he couldn't bring himself to move her from the bed. From the circle of his arms.

He heard Jeremy's feet on the steps.

Jeremy opened Elena's bedroom door, and looked at Damon and Elena. "How long?" he asked. "How much longer until she wakes up a monster?"

Damon answered, "Not long now. And if you ever call her that again, you are seriously going to regret it. I will haunt the fuck out of you. She's your sister, no matter what. Understand?"

Jeremy hesitated, and then nodded, his mouth tight. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"No. It wasn't. But what's done is done. And she's going to need you, Jeremy. Can you be there for her? No judgement?"

"Yeah."

"You promise?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Your sister, no matter what?"

"Yes. My sister no matter what."

"Thank you. You're a good kid, Jeremy."

Jeremy nodded again, and then shut the door and went into his own room. Damon could him sobbing in there. Damon understood. Sobbing was what he wanted to do as well.

He heard the door downstairs open and close again, and he heard Stefan's familiar tread on the stairs. It reminded him of the last time Stefan had come to this room to find Damon holding Elena in her bed. A thousand years ago.

Stefan opened the door to Elena's room slowly. There were tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. I did this."

"You had to."

"Did I?" Damon asked. "More than anyone else, I know what this means for her. Not only what it means for her here, but what it might mean for her when her number is up and she goes _there._ I condemned her to that. Should have let Ric kill every last vampire on earth instead. I keep making the wrong decisions, Stef."

Stefan shook his head. "Katherine and Caroline told me how it happened. She wanted it this way, you know she did. When it counted, you respected _her_ decision, Damon."

"Yeah, well. Like I said before, her decisions suck. And speaking of someone whose decisions suck, where is Katherine?"

"Back at the boarding house. We took Alaric and Klaus both there, and she and Caroline are keeping watch. Caroline won't leave Klaus alone with Katherine, and vice versa, so as you can imagine, things are tense. Alaric is dead past revival, of course, but Klaus is not. There's always the chance Rebekah will come for him, and try to wake him up. Katherine wants to prevent that. I'm not sure Caroline feels the same."

"I can't say I care too terribly much either way, Stefan. He will have no interest in Elena now. No doppelganger for him. No more Petrovas, the line is done." Damon paused, and then said. "Put Ric in the Salvatore crypt with my body. My real one. It's where we said goodbye, it's where he belongs."

Stefan nodded. "I will do that. I want to be here, though, when Elena wakes up."

"Of course. It won't be too much longer. You'll be downstairs?"

"I'll be outside, on the porch, actually. It's a little crowded downstairs. Just let me know when it's time," Stefan said, and he left.

Damon listened as the witches began to talk amongst themselves. There was an easy comaraderie there, and a sense of relief, especially for Lucy. He didn't hear Leslie, but then, he almost never heard Leslie. He'd never met a quieter vampire before. She could probably beat Stefan in a quiet-off. But you could see on her face how much she adored her witchy girlfriend, and he was glad for their sake that they had nothing to worry about anymore. Rebekah was safe, and so was Leslie. At least someone was walking out of this mess with their lives made whole.

It was what Emily had been working towards. Damon wanted to laugh. After everything, after dismissing Damon as no longer useful, he had still gotten her exactly what she wanted. No dead hybrids, but Damon felt they had done one better by taking down Klaus and ending the Petrova line. No dead hybrids, but no new hybrids either. Never again.

Of course, now he knew what Esther had been alluding to in their conversation. But she had been wrong. Damon hadn't flinched when confronted with what had to be done to end her hunter forever. He had done his goddamn duty, and he hated himself for it. He hoped Esther was choking on her rage somewhere. As soon as this body was gone, and he had returned to the Other Side, he was going after that bitch and making her pay for using Elena as her fucking loophole. It had been _evil_. Damon could think of no other word for it.

And here, in his arms, was the result. One more vampire in the world. He had little doubt that Elena would choose to transition. She wouldn't make Jeremy lose his last family member. She could never do that.

Damon's attention was caught by what the witches were discussing down in the kitchen. Bonnie was saying something about checking to make sure the Gilbert kitchen had a blood bag in the refrigerator for Elena when it was time to transition, and then she also mentioned needing to spell a daylight ring. Damon aleady had a lapis lazuli ring for Elena. He'd had it made up for her last year, just in case. It wasn't spelled yet, of course, though. Damon made a mental note to make sure Stefan knew where it was for Bonnie to use. Since he would't be around to show them.

"Oh, a daylight ring . . . can I watch you do that?" Grace asked. "That's a spell I would love to learn."

"Sure, that would be fine," Bonnie answered her.

Lucy responded, "It's an old Bennett family recipe, so you should feel pretty honored. We don't share that one with just anybody. Which does make me wonder just who it was that made one for Alaric Saltzman. I didn't recognize the one he was wearing."

"Emily told me it was made for him by a witch in New York. Betty or Bessie, I think?"

Damon heard Lucy groan. "Yeah. That's my third cousin Bess. She's a total vampire groupie, so that is not a surprise at all. Such a sucker for a handsome vamp."

"Ric could be charming when he wanted to be," Bonnie said. "Honestly, I'm going to miss him. Oh, and poor Damon. This had to have been roughest on him. They were best friends, you know. Never thought I would feel sorry for Damon about anything, but I do now. For so many reasons now."

"Well, about that - " Grace said. "Ladies, I think we need to convene a witches' council."

"What do you mean? I thought Emily was refusing to come and talk to you anymore," Bonnie commented.

"No, not Emily's council. Our own. Just us three, right here and right now. Let us sit at the table, and talk like sisters," Grace said, and Damon was startled to hear just how grown up she sounded all of a sudden. He had become accustomed to her carefree voice, always smiling, but this was a more serious Grace.

Chairs were moved, and the witches sat. They certainly had Damon's full attention now.

"Okay," Grace began,"I want to first say that I am so super grateful at how you have welcomed me here. This experience has been beyond anything I could have imagined back at school when Mrs. Lee was telling me what it was like to work with other witches. It's been very cool, and I know I'm going to cry buckets when I have to leave you. So, thank you. And secondly, I want to point out to you just exactly how much magical power we have in this house, right now."

"I assume you don't just mean us," Lucy said.

"Well, we are certainly conduits for a lot of power, so we count. Three powerful witches. And also, three of the most powerful magical objects on the earth."

Lucy remarked, "The silver stake on this table."

"Ayanna's pendant in my pocket," Bonnie added. "And what else?"

"And the blood of the doppelganger. The most powerful binding agent for any spell we could come up with. Blood that will only be useful until Elena completes her transition," Grace said.

"What kind of spell are you considering?" Bonnie asked her.

"I want to rebind the body we made for Damon. I want to make it permanent."

It wasn't going to work. Lucy, maybe - but Baby Witch and Teen Witch? No. They couldn't make it work. There was no reason to get his hopes up.

He could practically hear Lucy shake her head. "I don't know. It's not at all what Emily and the witch alliance would want us to do."

"Of course, they wouldn't. They want to be in control of what we do here. They want to make the rules. But as Emily told me once, let the dead take care of the dead, and the living take care of the living."

Oh, so Emily liked to reuse that one.

"But what _is_ Damon, anyway? Dead or living?" Bonnie asked.

"As far as I am concerned, if he has both spirit and body, he is living," Grace answered. "And that means he belongs to us, not to them."

"He was serving his time up there," Lucy said. "He was paying for the crimes he committed here, isn't that how it is supposed to work? He even admits to having killed witches. Doesn't he deserve to pay?"

He did, Damon thought. He definitely did.

"But what about Elena? Look at the sacrifice she made today, a sacrifice she made for the ones she loves. The one _you_ love, Lucy. When she jumped off that roof, she thought she was going to die. She was _willing to die_. Shouldn't her bravery and sacrifice be rewarded? Does she deserve to lose the one she loves the most?"

She didn't, Damon thought. She definitely didn't.

"I owe her so much," Lucy said, quietly. Damon couldn't hear Leslie (of course), but he assumed that Lucy was looking at her.

"And we witches pay our debts," Bonnie said.

"Yes, we do," Lucy added. "We do. But even if we agree that this is worthwhile, how would we go about it?"

"Early this morning, I called Mrs. Lee. It occurred to me that if everything worked according to Damon's plan, we would eventually have the silver eternity stake in our possession. It contains the property of invincibility, correct? But all of that invincibility is in the surface coating. We would need to remove the coating from the stake, and combine it with the blood of the doppelganger, and blood from Damon's brother. Then we need to have Damon drink it while still in the body we made for him. And then we do the last part of the ritual from last night. The binding part of the spell."

"But would his body be invincible? I am not comfortable with making him eternal. That's too big of a step," Bonnie asked.

"No, not quite. He might be invulnerable, though, as in nothing would be able to hurt his body. He would absorb the spell, and it should hold him together - but there would be a loophole, of course. His body would be tied by blood to Stefan and Elena. As long as they live, he lives. Now 'live' is a super tricky thing, and that's what Mrs. Lee and I spent awhile discussing. In this case, she and I believe that 'exists in their own bodies' is close enough. So as long as Elena and Stefan's spirits occupy their bodies, Damon will be able to stay in his as well. That means he lives as long as either of them is alive. So, he won't move on to the Other Side again until both of them have."

Damon couldn't help it. He could feel himself start to hope again. He held Elena close to him, and whispered to her, "Did you hear that, sweetness? You might not be able to get rid of me after all."

"I think I know a way to melt the coating from the stake," Bonnie remarked.

"I was hoping you would. That's the part I thought would be the trickiest, to be honest."

"Emily describes making the eternity rings for Jonathan Gilbert and his nephew in her grimoire, which I have in my bag here." There was a rustling of paper, and then Bonnie said, "Yes, it's here. She actually had to do a spell while the metal was being smelted by the blacksmith. If we do that same spell again, combined with fire, and channeling Ayanna's pendant, I believe we can effectively re-smelt the metal, and melt it right off the stake. Maybe."

"'Maybe' is good enough for me," Grace said, and Damon could hear the smile in her voice again. "We have nothing to lose. But we do have to work quickly. Damon's body will dissolve in just a few hours. Even now, the bonds are becoming more and more loose."

Yes, he thought. Hurry the hell up. He'd like to retain at least a little of this super strength. It would suck being weak as a kitten while Elena got to enjoy a vampire body.

There had been no hope. None. And now there was. Only a smidge. A very vague maybe. But just like Grace said, 'maybe' was good enough for him.

It was at that moment, that moment of new hope, that Elena opened her eyes, and took her first new breath in his arms.

* * *

Her very first words after awakening had been, "Damon, Damon?" but the way she grabbed at his arms around her showed that she knew right where he was. She clutched his hands, and he loosened his grip on her. She turned in his arms, and Damon could swear there was a look of joy and laughter in her eyes.

"This is a sad occasion, Elena," he rebuked her, sternly, but not able to keep a sideways grin off his face.

"I don't care," she said. "You are still here. I was so afraid you wouldn't be."

Damon put his forehead against hers. "Always, if the witches have their way. How are you feeling right now?"

"What? I'm fine, I'm fine. A little itchy, and my head hurts- is that normal?"

"Yes, I think so."

"What did you say about the witches?"

"Nothing. Let's go downstairs and show everyone how inappropriate your mood is. They will be shocked and appalled."

"Everyone has been waiting for me?"

"Sweetness, everyone will always wait for for you, even if it takes forever. You're the heroine of the hour, you know. You saved them all."

"You did," Elena said, bringing her bandaged hand up to his face. She kissed the corner of his mouth, as he smiled.

"Yeah, well. It was a group effort," Damon replied, kissing her back. "Don't need this anymore," he said, as he peeled her bandage off to reveal a perfectly healed hand.

"Oh, right, didn't think of that. I also had a giant bruise on my thigh from the dresser last night. Bet that's gone, too," Elena said with a slight smirk.

They untangled themselves, and stood up, and Elena saw in the mirror that her hair and clothes were still bloody. "Damon! Seriously, you couldn't have cleaned me up?"

Damon shrugged. "I had other things on my mind. Like, the fact that I had just killed you, Elena." He looked down at his shirt, and pants, also caked with her blood. "Yikes. We look frightful, like some kind of zombie couple after eating the brains of the people. Hmmm, I guess we are a zombie couple, actually."

Elena laughed, and he shot her a look. "Entirely too cheerful, my dear. Slap a more somber expression on your face if you don't mind. You are, after all, just come back from the dead."

"Well, so are you, and I don't see you being all gloom about it." Elena tilted her head at him. "You know what? I should be feeling horrible, and I know that. But in a way, I'm just relieved. Is that crazy? The thing I feared for so long has come to pass, and I'm just relieved that my fate has been decided one way or the other. It was always this thing hanging over me, you know?"

"I guess so. I don't think everything has sunk in, to be honest."

Suddenly more serious, Elena nodded. "Maybe you are right. In fact, I know you are. But let's leave that for later, 'kay? Right now I am going to feel what I am going to feel. There will be plenty of time for all of the rest of it."

She grabbed his hand and they went into the hallway together. Damon called out, towards Jeremy's room. "Your sister is awake, kid."

Jeremy came out into the hall, his eyes reddened. "Hey."

"Hey, Jer. You okay?"

Jeremy nodded. "I will be."

"Hey there, don't be sad. This was my decision, Jeremy. I'm okay with it, and and you need to be, too."

He just nodded again. Elena dropped Damon's hand, to give her brother a big hug. He hugged her tightly back, and then pushed her away. "You are so gross and bloody."

"I know, right?" Elena said. "I'll get cleaned up later. Let's go on down and say hi to everybody, first."

"Yeah, it might be more involved than that. But I'll let Bonnie and the girls explain," Damon said. At her puzzled look, he just smiled. "Trust me, baby, everything's coming up roses."

The three witches were hard at work, when Damon, Elena and Jeremy reached the kitchen. Lucy was pulling bowls out of the cabinet, handing them to Leslie to place on the kitchen table. Bonnie and Grace were studying Emily's grimoire on the couch.

Bonnie looked up when Elena came in, and rushed to her, throwing her arms around her. "I am so sorry, Elena. If we had just gotten down the driveway faster, we might have stopped this."

Elena held her tightly. "It's okay, Bonnie. I was the loophole, you know. So this _had_ to happen eventually. If we wanted to make sure Ric was dead for good, and that everyone would be safe from him - this was the only way."

"I know," Bonnie said, "But it still sucks. And it hurts, too, to know what happens next."

The front door opened, and Stefan came inside. He walked over to the kitchen and reached out to Elena, but then recoiled.

"Oh, sorry, Stefan," Elena said, her hand going to the back of her head again. "I didn't even think. I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, and gave her a tight smile. "It's okay. I'm just glad you are up."

Elena gave a short laugh, "And Damon says I woke up inappropriate. I'm not sad and serious enough, apparently. I should be in tears or something, I guess."

Still keeping his distance, Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. "However you want to feel is fine, Elena."

"Yep," said Damon. "It's your transition party, and you can not cry if you want to."

"Speaking of, somebody needs to bring me a blood bag or volunteer a neck, so we can get this over with," Elena said. "I'd like to take a shower in the near future, and I may as well do it as a vampire."

Damon laughed. "I really love the way you are approaching this, Elena. So practical, so matter of fact."

"Well, let's not have you transition quite yet - although I have to say that I am super excited to watch that happen. It's pretty cool. But I assume you have been listening to us, Damon and Stefan. And you know what we witches are attempting," Grace said.

Stefan nodded, and Damon gave Grace the world's largest grin. "Today is the day that Damon Salvatore pledges himself to the preservation and protection of all witches, with the exception of certain dead ones who shall remain nameless. You, Grace Thomas, are a marvel. And a sweet kid."

"What is going on?" Elena asked him.

"Oh, let Bonnie fill you in. I don't think I could explain without bursting into song and dance," Damon said, still smiling.

"Basically, we are going to to try and make Damon's new body a permanent one so he can stay," Bonnie said, "But we need some of your blood while you are still technically the doppelganger."

"Absolutely," Elena responded. "Hand me a knife." She turned to Damon, and looked up at him with a laugh. "And you were going to give up all hope."

Damon just shook his head. "I know. Silly me."

* * *

AN: I don't have an extensive playlist for this fic, but I do owe a lot to two songs by Florence and the Machine: 'Cosmic Love' and 'Shake it Out'. 'Cosmic Love' is actually my Tatia/Elijah song (you didn't think I had forgotten about them, did you?).

In particular, every line of 'Shake it Out' speaks to the journey Damon takes in this story. During the toughest chapters, I played it endlessly.

"I am done with my graceless heart, So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart."

"And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't, So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road, And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope."

One more chapter after this one. And it's a happy one, I promise. (Do I even have to say 'cross my heart'?)


	17. Chapter 17

AN: This is it, folks! No epilogue for this one. And the fact that you are getting the world's sappiest HEA is entirely due to Robin. So if you would have rather had Damon stay dead with the burning and all that, blame her. Because I was totally leaning that way when I first sat down to write this. Also, I am gifting Elena with a decently easy transition here, because I put her through such hell in my last fic. I want to thank everyone for your kind reviews, and for sticking with me - even though I killed Damon. I didn't think anyone was going to continue reading past chapter three. ;)

* * *

Damon flexed his hand into a fist, the daylight ring he no longer needed glinting in the morning sunlight coming in through the living room window. It was good to be home.

Dust motes danced in the light, dust coating the furniture. Stefan had understandably neglected even the most basic housekeeping around the boarding house. No matter. Damon was back, and he had all the time in the world for keeping the dust at bay. Funny, really, considering that was what his new body was, mostly. He felt a kinship with the dust motes in the sunlight. He felt like dancing the way that they did.

The front door opened, and Damon heard, "Hey, there. Wow, this place is really cool. Glad I got to see it before I had to leave."

Damon turned, to see Grace at the entrance to the living room. "Thanks. We like it. Are you not staying for the funeral?"

She shook her head. "Nope, Leslie and Lucy said they would drive me to the airport. And Bonnie said she would ride along with us. We just stopped by so I could say goodbye. I have to get to real cello camp in Boston before everyone freaks out. The music director thinks I'm coming late because I was home with the flu, and my folks think I'm already there. Just hoping it's not going to be a problem that I left my cello behind at home in Berkeley. Hopefully, my parents won't notice it standing in my room."

"Kind of hard not to notice a cello, I would think."

"True. I should have taken violin lessons instead." Grace smiled at him. "You look good. No side effects?"

"Nah, it's all excellent. I have zero complaints, my witchy little friend. I do have questions, though."

"I thought you might. After we re-bound you, and then Elena transitioned, the two of you kind of disappeared on us. Figured you might need more of a lowdown on body mechanics."

"Oh, we managed to figure most of it out on our own. And Elena had just recovered some memories that she wanted to, ah, discuss with me in private. But I was wondering - so, can I hop in and out of this body? Like a suit of armor?"

Grace shook her head. "No. You could before, actually. But not now that you have absorbed the eternity metal from the stake inside you. You are trapped in there the way the rest of us are all trapped in our bodies."

"Okay, and that leads to another question - what exactly _is_ inside of me? Do I even have a heart, or lungs or anything anymore? Or am I just a hollow shell? Again, no complaints or anything. Just curious."

"Well, you are not hollow. Um . . . " Grace looked embarrassed. "Okay, so the deal is that I had to think about what a body should be, and what it should look like while we were doing the spell to make you, right? And the problem is that I don't take Bio until next year. I haven't even dissected a frog yet."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, so basically what is inside you is like, what I _thought_ should go inside you. So I was picturing what a stomach should look like, what lungs should look like, and all that stuff. I have no idea how it all actually turned out. I probably left out a bunch of things."

"So let me guess, my heart is probably shaped like a valentine heart, isn't it? And I'll bet that sixteen year old girls don't worry about things like spleens and a pancreas," Damon groaned. "Oh well, I guess it could be worse. If we had waited a year, I could have had frog insides."

"It doesn't matter, does it? I mean, your outsides turned out great. It helped that Bonnie knew exactly what you should look like, so she was focusing on that. And it's not like anyone can ever _get_ to your insides, because you are completely invulnerable now. And none of it _needs_ to work properly."

"Excellent point. And I appreciate the fact that you guys worked so quickly to do the re-bonding last night. Got to keep just enough super strength so that I don't have to worry about Elena outstripping me in her fancy vampire body for many years to come."

"Someday, she will be stronger than you."

"Someday, but not yet. That's a crucial point." At Grace's questioning look, he added, "Have to protect her from herself, you know. It can be tricky for a new vampire, lots to learn about self control."

"And you don't want her to kill anyone ever, do you? Not now that you know what that means."

"Yeah. That's my new life mission, as you must have guessed. I might not be able to make sure that she never goes to the Other Side eventually, but I will protect her from it's torments. She will know peace, I promise."

"I think that's a worthwhile mission, Damon. And it makes me even happier that we were able to do this for you. For both of you."

"It was touch and go there for awhile, though. Before Bonnie realized that she needed to do the smelting spell backwards, I thought I was going to have a valentine shaped heart attack. I'm just grateful none of you even thought about giving up."

"It was our pleasure, and I mean that. We made witch history, you know. Two days in a row. I've had several dead witches come to see me about it, asking questions about the process. They totally wouldn't let me sleep last night."

"Are they angry with you?"

Grace shrugged. "Some were, I guess, but most were just curious and impressed. I think Emily was actually pleased, to be honest. She may not show it, but she has a soft spot for you and your brother. You remind her of a time when she was still alive on earth."

"Well, I'm over any irritation I once felt. If it wasn't for Emily, I wouldn't be here. All's well that ends well."

"I think she feels that way, too. Wouldn't be surprised if you still saw her now and then." Grace glanced at her watch. "Eek, I had better go. They are waiting for me in the car. They are definitely all coming back after dropping me off. Lucy has decided that she wants to hang around Mystic Falls awhile longer, to spend more time with Bonnie. Bonnie has been alone a long time, in a witch sense. Never good for witches to be too much alone, Mrs. Lee always says."

"You coming back, too, someday?"

"Maybe," Grace responded, with a very Grace-like smile. Damon opened his arms, and she came into them for a hug.

"'Maybe' is good enough for me, kid. Have a good flight."

"I'd totally say that you should call me whenever, but I'd have a hard time explaining why this totally older guy in Virginia was blowing up my cell phone. If you have any more questions about your body mechanics, let Bonnie know. She's my new 'friend from cello camp', so she can call me, no problem."

"Can do."

She stepped away and headed to the door. "Totally looking forward to this drive. Did you know Leslie was a flying ace in World War I? She had to disguise herself as a boy, and as a human, of course, but she was awesome back in the day. She was also with Howard Carter in Egypt when he opened up King Tut's tomb. And she was one of the first Europeans to scale Kilimanjaro. She did that as a human, actually. She has so many cool stories. You can't shut her up once she gets going."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "I honestly had no idea."

With super speed, Elena came down the stairs, and threw herself at Grace. Grace staggered back, and landed on the floor, "Whoah."

"Sorry," Elena said, abashed. "Still getting used to it." She stood, and helped Grace up. "I was just going for a hug, but once I get started, I can't seem to stop myself."

Grace laughed. '"S'okay. That was fun. Thanks for coming down to say goodbye. Sorry I won't be here for your funeral, but I have to catch a flight."

Grace hugged Elena, gave them both a wave and a cheery, "See ya," and was gone.

After she left, Elena handed Damon the two envelopes she had been carrying in her back pocket, and then tugged him down onto the couch. "It's our funeral day."

"Huzzah," Damon responded.

"Time for will readings. Unless you want to wait to read yours when everyone gets here."

"Mine is not for public consumption. You wrote one, too?"

"Yep, just now."

Damon pulled out the sheet of paper from the envelope labeled 'Last Will and Testament of Elena Marie Gilbert', and unfolded it. He cleared his throat before reading out the single line written there. "'I, Elena Marie Gilbert, being of sound mind and body, hereby leave myself to Damon Salvatore.' Oh, you are a funny girl."

Elena grabbed his arm, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She leaned up against him and nibbled on his ear. "Ow, watch those fangs, missy."

"Right, Mr. I'm-Invulnerable-and-Can't-Feel-Pain."

"I thought you were going to take this whole funeral thing seriously?"

Elena shrugged. "I don't actually have anything to leave to anybody. As soon as I am able to, I'm signing my half of the Gilbert Trust and all that goes with it over to Jeremy. I legitimately died, so he should have it all. I come to you as only myself."

"I'm cool with that. Speaking of, did you let Jeremy know what he needs to bring over from your house so you can stay here awhile?"

"Yeah, he's packing a couple of bags for me. I think he's actually relieved that I'm moving out for a few weeks. If you hadn't kept me distracted all night last night, I might have eaten him. He smells so _good._"

"I doubt that he's particularly worried about you eating him. He's probably just happy we are going to be spending the nights here because you are a bit of a screamer."

"Damon!" Elena went pink, and she slapped him in the chest.

"Makes me very happy that you can still blush. And hey, I adore the fact that you are a screamer," Damon said, tickling her under the chin. "And I adore you."

"Well, that's a good thing, since you are tied to me for life. Literally."

"Could not be happier about that, babe."

"Okay, your turn." Elena picked up Damon's will from the couch where he had laid it down. "Wow, this is thick."

"It's mostly boring financial stuff. I wanted Stefan to have a complete record of where everything was, and how to access it. Bank accounts, secret bank accounts, investment portfolio, the shell corporation numbers, property deed locations, and whatnot."

Elena opened the papers, and smoothed them out. "You are right, that is boring. I guess I never thought of you as the responsible financial type."

"Stefan was the guy who lived day to day, never planning to have a future anywhere. Which makes sense given his issues. But I was the one always thinking ahead. The way I see it, any vampire who is over a century old, and who isn't rich, is doing it wrong. Or is just too radically stupid to understand the miracle of compound interest, and has no idea of how to compel a banker to do illegal things." Damon gave a small sigh, as he said, "I'm going to miss being able to compel people. You will have to do all of my compelling for me."

"You were preparing for a future with Katherine, weren't you? You thought you were bringing her out of a dark hole after 145 years, and you wanted to be able to provide for her." Elena brought a finger up to trace the edge of his jawline. "That's sweet, and kind of old fashioned."

"Yeah, well. And now a different Petrova doppelganger will reap the benefits of my financial preparedness. Who would have guessed?"

Elena turned her attention back to the will. "So let's skip what is boring, and you can just point me to the good stuff."

Damon removed his arm from her shoulders, and took the papers from her. He shuffled through them, and handed her one sheet. "Here."

Elena scanned the document. "Oh, it was nice of you to leave Ric an apartment in London. When did you create this will?"

"That day I was dying of a werewolf bite last year. He had just lost Jenna, and I thought he might want to move out of Mystic Falls forever."

"Didn't work out that way."

"No, it didn't."

"So basically, you left everything else to Stefan, except for your half of this house, which was already mine anyway."

"Well, not everything." He turned the document over in her hands.

There was only one paragraph on that side. "Oh." Elena looked at Damon with a smile. "Everything in that secret wooden box in your closet was left to me?"

"Yeah. You didn't go through it all. You saw my mother's jewelry and her love letters - which were very important to me after she died, and which I thought you might get translated. I liked the thought of you reading them someday. And the picture of my real father, of course. But the box has a false bottom, which you totally missed."

"It does?"

"Yep."

"And you aren't going to tell me what is in there, are you?"

"Nope."

"Well, that's hardly fair, especially considering that we already know for sure that you are going to outlive me."

"Very valid point. And you will just nag me from now until forever if I don't, won't you? You are reliable like that."

"Extremely reliable like that."

"Oh, fine. There's a letter in there, one that I wrote to you when I thought I was going to die. I wrote my will, then wrote you a letter, put them into the box. Drank some bourbon, and tried to kill myself with sunlight."

"You did?"

"Yes, but Stefan, damn his hide, tackled me before I went all crispy, and that was that. The rest is, as you might say, our history."

"What does the letter say?"

"Nuh uh, not giving away all of my secrets today. Besides, you can probably guess what it says. I was in a pretty sentimental and melancholy mood."

"It's basically just 'I love you, Elena' written a hundred times, isn't it?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Well, as soon as I figure out how to open the secret drawer or whatever, I'm going to take that letter and have it framed to put over our bed. That way, whenever we get into an argument, I can point to it and say, 'Shut up, you love me.'"

"Oh, you are in a silly mood. Still not ready to face up to your monstrous future, eh?"

"That's not true. Thinking about the future is what I'm _finally_ doing. I was the doppelganger in love with vampires, remember? Just like Stefan, I didn't think I had a future. And now I do, and it finally has a shape and a name and substance to it."

"Seriously, Elena, you are making me wonder why I didn't just turn you myself the day I met you. Who would have thought it would bring you such peace? Now I feel like I have wasted a ton of energy and time trying to prevent this."

"I'd prefer to be human, Damon," Elena said, her gaze on his face suddenly serious. "I would very much prefer being human. But I am here now, and so are you. And this isn't so bad. I know it's not always going to be easy, and I know there are many things you and Stefan and Caroline are going to have to help me with. But I'm not going to pretend to be distraught when I am not. _I lost you._ And if I had to become a vampire in order to get you back, then I will be happy about that, damnit. I choose to be happy."_  
_

"And we all know what happens when you make a choice. You don't waver."

"Nope." Elena idly twisted the new daylight ring on her finger. "Not even a little bit."

Damon reached over and touched her ring. "You like it?"

"Are you kidding? I love it. I love that it matches yours."

"Well, when I had it made it was to match Stefan's. Since he was your one true love, and all that."

"Oh, you are such a good brother-in-law to me," Elena said, as she smiled wickedly.

Just as Damon had lowered his head to hers, and was about to kiss her, his attention was caught by a figure sitting in the chair opposite the couch. He raised his head, and sighed. "Hey there, Emily."

Elena sat up straight. "Oh. Well, I guess I have stuff to get ready anyway. You might not need to eat or drink, but the rest of us do. And Emily," Elena said, politely addressing the wrong chair. "Feel free to stay, if you like. It's kind of like a party. For dead people."

Emily inclined her head. "I thank you, Elena, but I cannot stay."

"She says thanks, but no thanks," Damon said. As Elena stood to leave, he caught her hand, and kissed it. "Love you."

"So you keep saying," Elena said, with a smile as she left for the kitchen.

Damon turned back to his guest. "This is how it's going to be from now on, isn't it? Ghosts dropping by whenever, no privacy at all."

"You did not have privacy before, you just did not know it."

"Are you here to yell at me for leaving hybrids alive, and then inviting them to a party, Emily?"

Emily shrugged. "No. As far as I am concerned, you went beyond what was requested. There will be no more hybrids."

"Damn straight. I thought you would be happy about that. You can rub it in Bree's face, too. Although, I guess she wasn't wrong about the loophole being the key as well."

"No, she was not wrong. And Elena's sacrifice was noted by all of us."

"Does it buy her any extra favors? You know, once her clock is punched and her time is up?"

"I wish I could say yes, but as you know, we witches do not decide such things. She will have many friends on the Other Side, of that you can be sure. She need never be alone."

"That is something, I guess. And let's hope that day does not come for a very long time."

"Yes. There is much hope for her, so little of her is a monster. She is strong and simple of heart, and still with so much humanity and compassion. If she holds onto that, she will know peace."

"Yes. I will swear to that."

"I know you will." Emily smiled, and then stood. "You are fortunate to have had her love while she was human. That love is what made it possible for you to return, you know. We could not have sent just any spirit back here to take incarnate form. It had to be someone with ties as strong as yours, with a love as strong as hers. A weaker anchor would not have sufficed."

"But I was here, already, before the ritual began."

"Only some of your spirit was here, Damon. Just as only some of mine is here now. I am always tethered to my place there, just as you were tethered to your field. What we witches did on our side was to sever that link, and push forth all of you, every last bit of you. It took tremendous power. No part of your spirit remains there now."

"Then I thank you, Emily. You have given me a gift, and so have your descendants."

"You are welcome, Damon. And we will see you there, back in your field someday. A legend, actually, and a person of much curiosity among the dead."

"Jealousy, too, I imagine."

"Of course. We are all jealous." And with that, Emily was gone.

* * *

Emily was not the last of Damon's ghostly visitors.

He was sitting on the balustrade, watching their guests frolic with un-funeral-like merriment on the lawn, when Ric walked across the patio and sat beside him.

"Hey, brother," Damon said to him, with a nod.

"This isn't awkward, is it?" Ric asked, as he gave Jeremy a wave.

"Not for me. That guy that died yesterday, he wasn't you. And neither was the guy that ripped my heart out a couple of weeks back."

"Well, he was, and he wasn't. I don't want you to think otherwise."

"Ah, so deep down, you have always thought I deserved a little heart ripping," Damon said, with a crooked smile.

"Maybe so, Damon. How could it have only been yesterday that I died?" Ric looked up at the sun. "It doesn't make sense. I've been on the Other Side-"

"For what seems like years? Yeah, time is weird like that up there. Don't even bother trying to figure it out, it'll only drive you mad. Well, Ric, I'd offer you a drink, but it wouldn't do either of us any good."

"It is strange to be sitting here with you, and not have a bourbon in hand."

"I know, right? But you did say you wanted to cut back."

"Yes, I did. You know, the last time I think we were out here, sitting like this, was for Elena's birthday."

"I think you are right. And now we are here for her funeral. Funny world, isn't it?" Damon inclined his head towards Jeremy, who was manning the grill and flipping burgers. "He took your arrival pretty casually."

"We had a long chat this morning. Freaked him out at first, but now we're cool."

"That's good. He doesn't really lose you this way."

"No. I'll be around. When I'm not busy over there."

"Oh, yeah, it can be a busy place with all of it's fiendishly crafted activities. So you're stuck in the Salvatore crypt, aren't you? I didn't think about that. It just goes to show that you need to be careful about where you die as a human, since that is where you are going to be hanging around for eternity. Unless she gets to move on, poor Elena is going to be tethered to Klaus's driveway."

"I'm actually just outside of the crypt, not inside. I don't know why."

"Must have something to do with where Esther stood when she decided on your death. That seems to be the way it works. Well, at least you don't wake up from the burning inside a super gloomy miniature stone house every time."

Ric gave a little shudder. "The burning."

"Yeah, I can't say I miss that at all. You just wait until night comes for you, that's a heckuva lot of fun. Makes the burning look like a day at the spa. Anyone shown up to visit yet?"

"Esther, of course. But that discussion did not go well. There was a lot of yelling, on my part, and a lot of sneering at me and self righteousness on her part. Emily Bennett also spoke to me, and she assured me that her witches hold no grudge against me. They just see me as a victim of Esther's games." Ric paused, and then said, "Isobel came by."

"Really? Interesting. I didn't even think to look her up while I was there. How did that go?"

"Okay, I guess. She's more like the Isobel that I remember, the one I was married to - which has been confusing for me, actually. But we're talking, and that's something."

"Do they have a ghost version of marriage counseling up there? If not, maybe they should." Damon shook his head. "Well, doesn't sound like you have had a chance to get too lonely yet."

Before Ric could respond, Marissa came up to the balustrade and sat down beside Damon. Ric politely moved over to give her room, even though she could obviously not see him.

"Hey, there."

"Howdy," Damon replied.

"So I just wanted to let you know that Sarah called?"

"Uh huh."

"And Joshua is going to be fine. Her son, the one her mother has been taking care of? Her mom apparently managed to stay off the booze enough to keep up with his meds, so that is good."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, but yes. That is good."

"So I wanted to ask for your advice."

"Well, why not? I am a fount of wisdom."

"Right, exactly. I figure, you've been dead, and you came back, so that's some real experience, right? And that's kind of the question I have. My folks think I'm dead, of course. Klaus caught me and my whole pack in Portland where we were having a party, and he wouldn't let us call anyone or talk to our families at all after he turned us. We just vanished. And I'd like to talk to them, but I don't want to freak everybody out. I've been dead, or at least missing, for awhile, as far as they know. But Sarah managed to go home, and I don't think it gave her family a heart attack to see her."

"Call your folks, Marissa."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I don't want to leave Jason, though." Marissa sighed, as she looked over to where Jason and Tyler were playing with an old croquet set Zach must have stored in the cellar. Who Zach had been planning on playing croquet with, Damon had no idea. The guy had practically been a shut in.

Damon watched as Jason repeatedly smacked Tyler in the head with a mallet, while laughing hysterically. "I can see why. The guy is such a charmer."

"I know, he's cute, right? And we knew each other back in Portland. He used to have a girlfriend, and they were pretty serious - but she was human, and Klaus used her to feed us after we transitioned. She didn't make it. So he's kind of available, you know? But I don't think he's over her yet. And he's not sure that he wants to call his parents, either."

"Make sure Jason calls his parents, too. Trust me."

"Okay. You are probably right. We should call them, and go back to Portland together. Freedom is a funny thing, isn't it? I mean, it's all we wanted, really. But now that we have it, it's just weird. Like we got used to somebody else doing our thinking for us, and it was easier that way. Did you ever meet Mindy? I mean, before your brother cut her head off?"

"No, don't think I had the pleasure."

"Well, she was super sweet, and super smart. She was always trying to come up with a way we could all rise up together and revolt against Klaus. That was her thing, you know? One day we will rise up. But we never did. And now they are all gone except for us four. Oh, well." Mindy shrugged, and hopped off the balustrade. "One other thing . . . do you think you can talk to Caroline for us? Jason and I are really concerned that she wants to wake Klaus up. And we're afraid he will come after us, you know? I don't really want to have to go on the run. She's pretty conflicted. I mean, she feels like he trusted her, and she led him right to this trap, and it's all her fault."

"Caroline's too soft hearted for her own good."

"I know, she really is. She was making an effort to help him become a person. Somebody capable of having actual friends, and stuff."

"You know Klaus pretty well, do you think that is even possible?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. I didn't hate him. I mean I _did_, of course, but I also just thought he was lonely, and kind of sad. Anyway, I explained to Caroline what this means to us, to Jason and Sarah and me. How we were basically his prisoners, never able to talk to our famiies, never able to go anywhere or do anything without permission. I don't know if it made a difference. Obviously, it was enough to get her to stop standing guard over his body, but I don't think it changed her mind entirely."

"You won't have to run from him, no worries," Damon said. "Even if Klaus wakes up, I'll tell him his three brave hybrids died while protecting his body from Ric's stake."

"Oh, that's actually a good idea. He won't look for us, then. Thanks, Damon."

"No problem, Marissa. Don't put off making that call, okay?"

She nodded, and then headed back to the croquet game.

Once she was gone, Ric said, "Well, well. Isn't that one of the hybrids you were suppose to kill?"

"Yep."

"Oh, Damon. You big softie."

"Yeah, I know. I hate myself, you have no idea." Damon held a hand up to his mouth, and called down to the croquet players, "Guys! You are supposed to hit the balls _through_ the hoops!"

"Yeah, guys," Elena said, as she hit a ball right into a tree, and laughed as it bounced off. "Haven't any of you seen _Heathers?_"

"You people throw a bitchin' funeral," Jason said, as he finished chugging a beer and crushing the can against his head. He used his mallet to hit the crumpled beer can through a croquet hoop, and turned to Damon. "Like that, right?"

Damon shook his head. Then, he waved at Matt and Caroline, who were arriving with a new keg.

"Finally. Jason and Tyler just drank up all of the imported stuff," Stefan said, as he came out of the house and onto the patio, and waved to Matt and Caroline as well.

Ric came off the balustrade, and made his way over to where Jeremy was seasoning some bratwurst. They started to talk.

"Don't feel like playing?" Damon asked Stefan, keeping one eye on Jeremy. The youngest Gilbert seemed okay with being there with his dead ex-guardian, so that was reassuring. It was nice to have something to share in common with Jeremy, now. Damon and Jeremy could bond over ghostly visitations. Maybe Jeremy could even show Damon how to get rid of the unwanted ones. Damon wasn't looking forward to Bree or Lexi or Mason or Scary Mary (or heaven forbid, Kol) dropping by during intimate moments with Elena.

"Something tells me nobody down there understands the rules of regulation croquet, and that would just drive me crazy," His brother answered.

"Where the hell has Matt been, anyway?"

Stefan furrowed his brow. "Hmmm. I have no idea. Hopefully, Caroline filled him in. I think we all just forgot to call him."

"Wow, talk about lousy friends."

"Who knows, might have saved his life by leaving him out of everything."

"True. We are dangerous people to know."

"So-" Stefan began, and then paused.

"So?"

"So, I'm taking off tomorrow. Just thought I should tell you."

"Really."

"Yeah. Katherine and I are going to take Klaus away. She's very concerned about Rebekah. We have no way of knowing where she even is. She's not answering her phone anymore."

"Caroline is cool with that? She seems to have a proprietary interest in our beef jerky friend."

"I don't care if she is. We're not going to throw him in the Atlantic or anything so drastic. Thought about it, but Katherine had another idea. There's a witch she knows in Chicago . . . well, I'll just leave it at that. We'll call you from the road, and check in periodically. Might take us awhile."

"How romantic." Damon raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"It's not like that."

"Well, maybe it will be 'like that' someday, Stef. Don't rule it out, you know. Katherine might not be my very favorite person right now, or ever, but she could be good for you. Keep you level, keep you sane. Keep you on the rails."

"I can't see it, Damon," Stefan said, glancing down the lawn to where Elena was. "But I guess anything is possible."

"Guess so. Are you taking the last white oak no-longer-silver stake with you?"

"No. I put it in a safety deposit box at the bank this morning. Left you the details in your room. Thought you could make the decision of what to do with it."

"I think destroying it would be the best call, don't you?"

"Probably so. But if Klaus ever does awaken, or if Rebekah decides to avenge her brother . . . I don't know. Maybe we should talk about it at some point."

"We can never use it on either of them."

"Katherine thinks we should hold onto it as leverage," Stefan responded.

Damon shook his head. "No. It's not leverage, it's just an invitation for more trouble to come into our lives. I'll take care of it, Stef. It'll be ashes in the fireplace long before you return from your non-romantic getaway with Katherine."

Katherine called up to the patio, "Come down here, Stefan. Nobody knows how to play this stupid game except for you and me. Let's show these children how it's done."

Stefan nodded at Damon, and then joined the others.

Damon watched his girl, his two ex-girls, his brother and the others as Stefan made everyone rearrange the croquet hoops in the right order. It was a beautiful day to be alive, and he felt a gratitude like none he had ever known wash over him.

When everyone had first arrived, he and Elena had each given the group a funeral speech. Elena's had been simple, she'd only said, "I love everyone and every thing. I loved my life, and I'm not going to stop loving my life just because I'm dead. Now, where's the beer?"

Damon's had been even more simple than that. He'd only said, "Thank you. I thank all of you. Except you, Katherine." But then he had given her a wink to let her know that, hey, there was no rancor there. Not really. Although, he definitely had plans to stake her in her sleep sometime that night, but it would be somewhere not too terribly painful. And he would even fetch her a blood bag afterwards.

His thank you had been directed even more towards the Universe in general than to any one group of people. He was never going to get over being grateful for the gift given to him. His girl, his new life, it all was bound together now. He was going to be saying thank you every day for the next millenium and beyond. And when it was over, truly over, and he was back in that field again, he wasn't going to curse and dwell on past anger. No regrets, that was his life now. Living with no new regrets.

Damon had a blessed few moments of solitude on the patio by himself, until he was joined there by Tatia and Elijah. They strolled across the patio, Tatia's arm looped in Elijah's.

Damon sighed. "It's Grand Central Ghost Station here. Not that I'm not thrilled to see you two together."

Tatia sat down beside Damon, spreading her skirts over the stone wall, and Elijah sat beside her. Tatia was smiling, as she said, "Esther gave him to me. She said I had been punished enough."

"Well, that is the truth."

Elijah shook his head. "Wasn't exactly that easy. But it does help that I was always Mother's favorite."

"How is dear old mum? I'll bet your reunion was awkward."

"It was," Elijah said. "Quite."

"She is not as angry as she was, I think," Tatia said, tilting her head as she thought about it. "And I do not think she is finished with all of you."

"Yikes, that sounds ominous. Her last attempt to meddle with things here resulted in a lot of deaths. Don't particularly look forward to dealing with Esther versus Vampires, round two."

"Indeed, a lot of deaths. In the thousands. Death in the abstract, and the far more personal deaths, as well," Elijah agreed, looking at Elena as she tried to balance a croquet ball on Caroline's nose. "But on the bright side, it will probably take her another thousand years before she has an opportunity as good as this last one."

"We can only hope. So how has the afterlife been treating you, Elijah? The burning is a given, but have you experienced the night yet? A thousand years of victims . . . I imagine your night must be especially fun."

Elijah said nothing, but Tatia answered, "Oh, it is very terrible for him. Thousands upon thousands of knives. And when it is over, and the dawn arrives, I run around, scurry scurry, picking up the pieces and putting him together. A hand here, his foot there. His lungs in a tree. It is very difficult to put intestines back inside. Very difficult, so slippery, like the eels in the sea. But I do it for my love, every morning."

Damon gave Elijah a sympathetic look. "Well, that's just awesome."

Tatia tried to hold Damon's hand, but could not make contact. "Oh, that makes me sad. I cannot touch you anymore?"

"Sorry, pretty girl. It looks that way."

"But you live happily now, right? Our wishes for you came true?"

"Yes. Very much so."

Tatia nodded, and smiled. "Then I am glad, and I will not be sad for you and Elena anymore." She pointed at Katherine and Elena, and said to Elijah, "There, my love. Our two girls, yours and mine."

"Oh, right," Damon remarked, raising an eyebrow. "I almost forgot. I guess that makes you guys the in-laws. Well, you are always welcome here for awkward family dinners, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"I believe that Tatia still has an interest in our descendants. So yes, we may come by now and then," Elijah said.

"Damon!" Caroline called to him. "These idiots broke the keg. Can you fix it?"

"Oh, leave him be," Elena said. "He's talking to his invisible friends again."

"Isn't that just going to drive you crazy?" Caroline asked her.

"Nah, I don't mind."

Caroline and Elena came walking up to where Damon was sitting, and Elena leapt gracefully to the balustrade. She balanced right on the edge, and then did a small pirouette. "Whoah," she said. "That was actually pretty cool. Where can I sit?"

"Not there," Damon responded. "Not unless you want to sit in Tatia's lap."

"Oh," Elena said, choosing to sit in Damon's lap instead. She made herself comfortable, and then said,"Hi, there."

"Elijah is on the other side of her."

"Really?" Elena gave a little wave to where Damon was indicating, and said, earnestly, "Elijah, I am so sorry. I wish we could have saved you."

Elijah gave her a small nod, and a smile.

"And our Ric, the non evil one, is over there by the grill, talking to your brother."

Elena looked at Jeremy, where he was gesticulating to thin air. It looked like he was describing to Ric some basketball game that Ric had missed. Elena shook her head. "Okay, Caroline, you are right. This is going to take some getting used to."

Damon's fingers tightened on her hips. His fascinating, infuriating, splendid girl. She fit so perfectly against him, and she always would. "Just add it to the list, baby. It's a brave new world."

"It is, isn't?" Caroline said from below the balustrade, tilting her head back to look up at Damon. "What do we call you, anyway? You are so unique. I mean, you aren't a vampire, you aren't really a ghost. There ought to be a word for you."

"There already is," Elena said, laughing, covering Damon's hands around her waist with her own. "He's _Damon. _And he's_ wonderful._"

And that pretty much summed it up.


End file.
